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Laughing at you, not with you

10,000 Birds

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. The Hainan version is sometimes considered a separate species, in which case it is classified as Near Threatened. 36, if my counting is right and there has been no very recent split or lump.

San Diego 205
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Birding the Ndumo area, South Africa

10,000 Birds

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. Great White Pelican is not just the name of a non-existent glam-rock band but also of a bird species. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

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Some Ingenuity Can Go a Long Way

10,000 Birds

This is similar to the fact that all birds, even first time breeders within a species build identical nests. Egyptian Vultures raised is isolation used rocks to crack eggs presented to them. In another experiment, other species of Darwin Finches were kept next to Woodpecker Finches that used tools. Photo: Peter Wilton.

Fish 163
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Birding Nonggang, Guangxi, China – part 2

10,000 Birds

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 226
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Birding Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo

10,000 Birds

When not climbing, he collected species, and thus a number of birds are named after him. While the Bornean Forktail looks quite similar to the White-crowned Forktail, it apparently is a separate species, making it another Borneo endemic. Of course, only chemists have a rough idea what that might mean. Leave the bad jokes to me, please.

Birds 223
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A Strategic Arms Race Among Birds

10,000 Birds

The vast majority of the 10,000+ living species of birds are passerines, and the vast majority of those have a similar system of breeding: Mom and dad bird make a nest and share parental responsibilities roughly equally, if not identically. In the latter, three or more adult individuals contribute to the raising of offspring.

Breeders 199
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Birding Deliblato Sands: What I have seen and what I haven’t

10,000 Birds

The only unstreaked pipit around here and a characteristic breeder of sand dunes is the Tawny Pipit and this one shows well, holding to the grass edge. They are quite a rare breeding species in Serbia, declining as we speak, but one pair breeds nearby. Two European Rollers await us on the wires, while one Eurasian Hoopoe flies by.

Serbia 122