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Crested and Proud

10,000 Birds

A crest is a “comb or tuft of feathers, fur, or skin on the head of a bird or other animal” Birds use them for display purposes – they can be either recumbent (not noticeable when not erect) or recursive (noticeable in all states). Quite a few bird species have crests. Crests are made of feathers.

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Whooper Swans at Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido

10,000 Birds

On the one hand, they are very easy to see in Germany, swimming in public parks or teaching pensioners how to eat bread. However, some swans claim that the views are much better in the highland habitat, and others are not that keen on raising chicks anyway. To be honest, I never cared too much for swans.

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EU Sends Inspectors to Portugal for Farm Animal Welfare

Critter News

The inspectors found nothing wrong, but at least they responded to the issues raised by Animal Angels, based in Germany. My 2010 resolution is to try and track animal rights issues in the homelands of Spain and Portugal. Tags: europe portugal farm animal welfare.

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Germany’s Great Bustards and how to see them

10,000 Birds

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. Now that I might have wetted your appetite, here’s where and how to find them in Germany: 1.

Germany 101
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Birding Shanghai in June 2022

10,000 Birds

As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. One of the established ways to evaluate self-cognition in animals (including humans) is the mirror test. In the classic test, an animal is anesthetized and then marked on an area of the body the animal cannot normally see.

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Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

The book is chiefly about how people have conceptualized and studied birds, but there is an underlying theme, the changing ways in which our Western culture has viewed animals, nature and God. It’s a huge scope for a 338-page book.

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Birding Singapore

10,000 Birds

The Asian Koel is a cuckoo species and thus freed from the obligation to raise its own chicks (though the birds like to refer to themselves as brood parasites, which sounds a bit less obviously selfish). Please keep that in mind if you ever think that Germany’s only contributions to the world are highways and world wars.

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