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Armchair Splits in the Pacific

10,000 Birds

eBird’s taxonomy was being updated, albeit not with what most desperately needs to be updated, the great albatrosses (c’mon, the Wandering complex has been split for over a decade people), but with a species I had seen in a few places and never suspected needed splitting. It was a split. An armchair split, no less.

Tonga 177
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Petrel Paradise

10,000 Birds

In particular the South Island destination of Kaikoura is world-renowned for the flocks of albatrosses and giant petrels floating right off the pelagic boat, and the ease of the trip makes it a must-visit for any visiting birder. One birder from Australia even got his lifer Red-crowned Parakeet !