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I and the Bird: What is a Vulture?

10,000 Birds

Old World Vultures are nestled within the family Acciptridae along with the hawks and eagles. It’s actually a pretty classic example of convergent evolution, wherein two unrelated families of lifeforms evolve to fill the same niche independently. The California Condor has a story well-known by anyone with an interest in birds.

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When Birds Are Near: Dispatches From Contemporary Writers

10,000 Birds

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

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15 Years: Things Will Never Be The Same

10,000 Birds

Taxonomic tweakings and reshufflings of birds on the Family and Genus levels are too many to count. For example, in California, populations of birds like Aleutian Cackling Goose have dramatically increased…but where did our Fulvous Whistling-Ducks go? Whereas checklists used to start with loons, they now begin with waterfowl.

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