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Acclimatisation Societies of New Zealand

10,000 Birds

There are the endemics, which are odd in their own way, and then there introduced species, which are so varied in their type and origin that you get the feeling you’ve arrived at the aftermath of a small zoo that escaped. What is surprising is quite how many species did end up here, and how economically unimportant they were.

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Tremendous Torrent Ducks

10,000 Birds

Although Torrent Ducks are fairly widespread throughout much of South America they are a declining species in most places due to hydroelectric schemes, introduced trout, pollution and erosion of riverside habitat. Otun Quimbaya remains a very good place to view this highly enigmatic and entertaining species.

Ducks 251
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Getting the Bill – Taste, Touch and Smell in Birds

10,000 Birds

But how birds use these different senses, like the diversity in bill size and shape, varies almost as much from species to species. Chickens come in at around 24, pigeons have around 40-50 and some duck species may have a whopping 400. The longest bird bill relative to body-size.

Birds 226
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The Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)

10,000 Birds

We have just three native species of lizard in New York State ( Northern Fence Lizard , Five-lined Skink and Coal Skink ) and one introduced species ( Italian Wall Lizard ). The female of the species lays ten to thirty eggs in a burrow she digs about 65 days after mating.

New York 166
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Birding from a Hide

10,000 Birds

When such a company runs a nature reserve, it is a bit like having a fox to watch over your chickens. And that is why the hides are where they are, not to admire the scenery (or shoot at it – hunting is prohibited in the reserve and the ban is enforced). Later, I complained about some oversights in those hides.

Serbia 254
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Birding Shanghai in December 2021

10,000 Birds

Here in Shanghai, December is the month that a birder’s addiction cannot be satisfied by the increasingly meager assortment of species at Nanhui – we have to go to other places as well. This includes the Common Pochard , a species classified as Vulnerable despite a relatively large population that is, however, declining rapidly.

Birds 227
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Animal Rights is Pernicious Nonsense?

Animal Person

than with any genuine concern for species diversity or even animal welfare."