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Vagrancy in Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

per cent of individuals of a species at a given time” and a vagrant bird as a bird that shows up outside of this range (p. The accounts cover vagrancy patterns for the family as a whole, reasons for vagrancy, documented examples of vagrancy for specific species and reasons that might account for those incidents.

Birds 260
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Big Years in 2013

10,000 Birds

On a Big Year, every species counts equally, even the lowly House Sparrow. As of my writing this he is off to a roaring start with 169 species recorded already. Rangel Diaz is doing a big year in Miami-Dade County, Florida, hoping to reach 300 species, and keeping a blog about it. Matt Timpf is doing a Canada Big Year.

2013 199
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Rename All Birds Named After White People

10,000 Birds

This is the same history of conquest and despoliation which now puts many of these very species in danger of extinction. Prior to serving in the Confederacy, Driver notes, McCown played leading roles in genocidal campaigns against indigenous peoples on the US-Canada border and against the Seminoles in Florida.

Birds 260
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Solid Air: Invisible Killer Saving Billions of Birds From Windows–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

The first half describes the problem (why birds hit windows, the scale of the deaths, scientific research, what happens when birds strike windows) and the second half discusses what to do about it (community and worldwide education, window deterrent solutions, legal mandates and building codes, citizen science–what individuals can do).

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2013 Big Year Update

10,000 Birds

Mark Kirk and Alisha Belo are doing a southern Africa big year, trying to see 800 species. As of the end of March they had already reached a whopping 652 species ! Ali Iyoob is sitting pretty at 230 species in his North Carolina big year during which he is trying to break the state record of 351.

2013 186
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My eBird 10th Anniversary

10,000 Birds

During the decade, I submitted 1,219 checklists and observed 555 bird species, all in the U.S. and Canada. After an initial period when all species are new, the lifers begin to follow a pattern. Thus, I can pinpoint my first pelagic trip, as it added 13 new species. I’ve submitted 448 such checklists.

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Wood Warbler Names Done Right

10,000 Birds

That fallacious family name seems to have encouraged all manner of knaves, dunderheads, and miscreants when time came to label species. Most of the warblers south of the border escaped this ignominy; those Basileuterus and Myiothlypis species generally appear exactly as advertised. NAMED FOR PEOPLE. NAMED FOR PLACES.

Rights 113