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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. There are many more factors than I imagined: compass errors, wind drift, overshooting, extreme weather and irruptions, natural dispersal, and human-driven vagrancy. other compass senses like the stars?–and

Birds 262
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A Problem with Gulls

10,000 Birds

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157
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A Question of Migration

10,000 Birds

To a birder, migration means that you can live in Minnesota, New York, Paris or Moscow and see exotic tropical birds such as Piranga olivacea and Icterus galbula on a regular basis without buying a plane ticket. It turns out that humans without compasses make no use of magnetic fields.) The birds do the flying for you.

Research 197
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Licking Clay: the Macaws of Tambopata, Peru

10,000 Birds

The field site I am assigned to is located in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and home to a particularly rich avifauna that numbers well over 500 species. Hundreds of riotously colored birds representing 14 species of macaws and parrots flock and frolic together in less than fifty meters of forest canopy.

Peru 255
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The Nonessential Whooping Crane

10,000 Birds

It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. Birders know that the light’s not always perfect or even particularly good when you’re trying to tell one species from another. Speculation is useless in acts of vandalism. It may be as simple as trying to hit the big white one. The big white one. It flies on.

2011 243
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ACTION ALERT! Tomorrow, MARCH 15, 2011, is the deadline for public.

10,000 Birds

Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting.

2011 252