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The popstars are back: Paradise Flycatchers in Shanghai

10,000 Birds

It is listed as Near Threatened – the HBW cites the usual reasons that are just other ways of saying that humans do not care enough for other species, such as forest loss and degradation in its winter range. Fear not, science has an answer: about 1.16 not their own).

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Birding Shanghai in March 2024

10,000 Birds

I am sure some people will hate this photo of a Eurasian Hoopoe , framed as it is by human artifacts. As I am sure I have mentioned before, a lot of science work seems to aim to prove the obvious – though the researchers still phrase their results very carefully. Of course, me being me, this is a good reason to show it.

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Potential Efficiency Improvements

10,000 Birds

Today, I invite you to join me, Kai Pflug, on an extraordinary avian expedition as we explore the vibrant cityscape of Shanghai, a hidden gem for birdwatchers in the heart of China. Birding Beyond the City: For the more adventurous birder, Shanghai serves as a gateway to explore the diverse landscapes of eastern China.

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Birding Shanghai in June 2023

10,000 Birds

In the slightly frighteningly named journal “Science of The Total Environment”, there is a paper on organochlorine compounds in Purple Heron eggs nesting in sites located around a chloralkali plant (Ebro River). More work, less fun, all because humans introduced some stupid fish into kingfisher habitat.

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15 Australian Birds (Episode 2)

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Quite likely, these birds are also the inspiration for Australian science communicator Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki. According to the HBW entry for this species, it “has been claimed that loss of native mammals after European settlement created shortage of nesting material, explaining this species’ penchant for taking hair from humans.”

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Birding Chongming Island in summer

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Maybe better not to ever meet such a “mother” (given that I have been living in China for too long to be up-to-date regarding political correctness etc., ” I can see how this line of thinking leads to all kinds of sci-fi types of thought (“would I mate with an alien if I was the last human on earth”, etc.),

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Feed me or I’ll die, and possibly take you with me!

10,000 Birds

In other bird science news, we should be concerned about waterfowl in China. The new H7N9 bird flu is probably widespread in birds, because it seems to be poking itself into human populations one person at a time over a very large geographical area.