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Don’t Ignore the Barnacles – they’re Real Birds

10,000 Birds

Serious birders may have an obsessive interest in birds, but one thing they universally don’t like are birds which, they believe, aren’t properly wild. This individual was photographed in India There’s one problem with this approach, as it can lead to birds being ignored.

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The most important book about European birds in this century

10,000 Birds

The adventure of the second European Breeding Bird Atlas, or EBBA2, was the topic of one of my first posts here at 10,000 Birds: In a warm Catalonian March, Barcelona is filled with sunlight and full of Rose-ringed and Monk Parakeets. In a very short time, we get two responses, two birds calling from opposite directions.

Europe 264
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The European Christmas Bird Count

10,000 Birds

The Christmas Bird Count was the answer. The IWC census starts from mid-January following the logic that it is the period when the birds have reached their wintering grounds and are rather static, so the chance of double-counting the same flock is minimal. But it is so frustrating to pass the birds by without IDing them!

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The Gawky Guillemot

10,000 Birds

Germany has only one high seas island it calls its own, the mighty (from a birding perspective) island of Heligoland. However, these breeding colonies were not always German breeding colonies. Denmark frequently held posession of the islands from the middle ages to the 18th century.

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Birds of Bolivia: Field Guide–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” Bolivia doesn’t come up much in discussions of birding travel.

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First Outbreak of Usutu Virus in Germany

10,000 Birds

This thrush is extremely common in urban and suburban Germany and one of the most conspicuous bird species here, comparable to the American Robin in North America. A few dead birds were collected by authorities and sent to a laboratory for investigation. and species breeding in cavities are less affected.

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The Domestic Turkey and the First Thanksgiving

10,000 Birds

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. The one case that could have been an actual Turkey was a bird spotted in Honduras, where they may or may not have been, by our friend Christopher Columbus.

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