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Ten Birds That Changed the World — a review

10,000 Birds

You might think that birds don’t change the world, birds are the world – but by his odd title, Ten Birds That Changed the World, author Stephen Moss means, he says, that birds have, in various ways, led to “paradigm shifts” in human history. Maybe Moss is right, and birds have changed history. Fine and dandy.

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What’s in a Name?

10,000 Birds

David Tomlinson The recent announcement by the American Ornithological Society that it intends to replace names of all birds named after people has caused quite a stir here in the UK. I have a fascinating little reference book called Whose Bird? Collecting birds was clearly a dangerous pastime. We don’t need any more.

Falcons 230
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What’s in a Name: Wilson’s Warbler

10,000 Birds

The Cape May Warbler , which I have added to my life list just this spring, is a stunning bird. Born in Scotland a mere decade before the Revolutionary War, he emigrated to America in his 28th year on the heels of a sentence in gaol for writing anti-capitalist poetry. In America, Wilson studied birds and painting.

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The Beautiful and Colorful Mourning Dove

10,000 Birds

The Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura) is among the most abundant and widespread terrestrial birds endemic to North and Middle America. This gentle bird frequents bird feeders and readily nests almost anywhere. A seemingly rather peaceful bird, it gets its name from its easily identifiable mournful call.

Hunters 178
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Bird Banding the Dry Tortugas

10,000 Birds

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 181
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Snowy Owl Ethics

10,000 Birds

Greg Lawrence is a long-time friend of 10,000 Birds and a birding machine in the Rochester, New York, area. When he reached out to ask if he could contribute a piece to 10,000 Birds about about the ethics around the current Snowy Owl irruption in the central and eastern United States we were all for it!

Ethics 149
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When two halves do not make a whole

10,000 Birds

The lives of birders are meted out in ticks and dips, and for every epic tale of the mega discovered and added to one of many lists, there are even more fascinating stories told of the birds that got away. We birders don’t always like to ruminate on missed birds, for some of us the wounds are worn too close to the surface.

Arizona 159