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The return of the Old Man

10,000 Birds

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills goes on to give greater detail of the former nesting sites in Europe: it could once be found “in southern Germany and Austria, in the valleys of the upper Rhine and Danube Rivers, and in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy and Germany, and perhaps in Hungary and Greece”.

Morocco 217
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Cypriot Delights: Part I

10,000 Birds

Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. It was strange to hear it here in Cyprus.

Cyprus 209
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Birding Yibin, Sichuan

10,000 Birds

The Latin species name alphonsiana refers to Prof. Of course, the Red-billed Leiothrix is a species native to Sichuan – in Britain, it is now discussed whether to regard it as an invasive species ( source ). While the Buffy Laughingthrush is a nice-looking bird, its Latin species name berthemyi is quite unfortunate.

Italy 182
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The Hidden Qualities of House Sparrows

10,000 Birds

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 210
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A covey of Greys

10,000 Birds

You’d be lucky today to find even a pair in Hungary, while according to the European Breeding Atlas 2 , it “has almost completely disappeared from S, central and W Italy, Switzerland, Norway and W Austria”. The two species are only distantly related, for Grey Francolins are true francolins, hence the name Francolinus pondicerianus.

Hungary 154
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De arte venandi cum avibus: San Martino Siir (2015) – Aglianico del Vulture DOC

10,000 Birds

For instance, Frederick rejected centuries-old folk wisdom that claimed that Barnacle Geese ( Branta leucopsis ) – a species with a seasonal occurrence in Europe – were born not of eggs laid by breeding geese but were spontaneously incarnated from driftwood afloat at sea. .” report in history?

2015 113
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Jochen’s Top 10 birds of 2016

10,000 Birds

My trips abroad were limited to short family vacations to the Cote d’Azur during the first days of January and a week-long vacation to northern Tuscany / Italy in May. I therefore finished the year on a high note, seeing quite a few species I scarcely got to see during the previous years. Great Spotted Cuckoo , Tuscany, Italy.

2016 101