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15 expat-friendly countries for a birder to move to

10,000 Birds

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. Thailand (925 / 948). Map by BirdLife International.

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Birding Shanghai in March 2023

10,000 Birds

Such programs are somewhat inefficient anyway – in one study , the breeding success of wild male pheasants was 2-5 times higher than for hand-reared and released ones while for females, hand-reared birds were 3 times as vulnerable to predation as the wild ones. 16% of urban nests were invaded by predators but 43% of rural nests were.

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What is a Merganser?

10,000 Birds

Goosander , which is what this species is called in Europe, may be a more accurate alternative, although Mergus merganser doesn’t really resemble a goose either. While this merganser does maintain a strong presence in China throughout the year, it may breed as far north as Russia and winter as far south as Thailand.

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Brown-headed Gull

10,000 Birds

This gull is closely related to, and necessary to separate from, the Black-headed Gull , a bird familiar to any birder from Europe (or even just anyone from Europe!). The Brown-headed Gull is a bird of Asia, breeding from Turkmenistan to Mongolia, and winters along the coasts of Asia.

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Best Bird of the Year 2014

10,000 Birds

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). Larry’s BBOTY – Great Gray Owl.

2014 193
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The Wryneck: Biology, Behaviour, Conservation and Symbolism of Jynx torquilla: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

They may eat other insects if they have to, but all they really want are ants and Gorman lists 24 species of ant that are part of their diet in Europe, any life stage will do. Gorman also leads bird tours in central and Eastern Europe and posts photos and updates on his work on his own website and, as I said before, Facebook.

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The New “Birds of Thailand”

10,000 Birds

Perhaps you don’t know it yet, but with more than 1000 bird species, palm-fringed sandy beaches, developed tourism infrastructure, moderate prices and political stability, Thailand is a country you definitively want to visit. Binoculars and a field guide, perhaps a scope and anti-leech hiking socks too. Everything else is secondary.

Thailand 195