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Ten Birds That Changed the World — a review

10,000 Birds

A prime example is the 1958 Chinese campaign to eliminate sparrows, considered pests because they fed on grain. As Moss shows, this “Great Sparrow Campaign” was based on nothing more than the “scientific illiteracy and unbridled power” of one man, Mao Zedong. Millions of Chinese died in the ensuing famine. What claptrap.

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Namibia’s 15 key birds

10,000 Birds

After a brutal colonization that included genocidal campaigns against the Herero (80% killed) and Nama (50% killed) tribes, the Germans lost control when South Africa invaded soon after the declaration of the First World War. Before self-rule it was administered by South Africa and known as South-West Africa.

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