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Do birds avoid predators because of culture?

10,000 Birds

Plasticity in humans is probably modulated primarily through experience and enculturation. Most likely, all individuals of a given species have very similar genes guiding very similar developmental processes, but produce different results because the plasticity itself is selected for. My research in the Congo supports this idea.

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The Storks of Africa

10,000 Birds

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. This is another wetland species that nests in sometimes huge colonies atop trees bordering rivers and lakes.

Africa 239
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The New “Birds of Thailand”

10,000 Birds

Perhaps you don’t know it yet, but with more than 1000 bird species, palm-fringed sandy beaches, developed tourism infrastructure, moderate prices and political stability, Thailand is a country you definitively want to visit. Among them are 20 endemics and near-endemics, and 58 vagrant species. And what do you need to pack?

Thailand 188
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Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of April 2019)

10,000 Birds

The promised Northern Fulmar were easily spotted from atop the cliffs, but another species made more of an impression. But his best of the weekend was easily a bird that he was amazed he could see in Barbados, the long-staying Eurasian Spoonbill that he spotted in its usual hangout, a private impoundment on Congo Road.

2019 113
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Introducing the African Birding Beat

10,000 Birds

Approximately 2,300 bird species inhabit Africa, however as impressive as that sounds, much smaller South America boasts nearly 1,000 species more. Madagascar’s mammals are equally remarkable; over 100 species of endearing lemurs and bizarre carnivores amongst them!

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World birding from a Schrödinger’s house

10,000 Birds

Will the threatened species make it through if there are no birding tourists to make those birds and their habitats valuable to local people just the way they are (as opposed to tropical timber)? What will be left of birding tourism? I was trying to find that answer for a while and it turned into a very annoying experience.

Uganda 247
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From Today's New York Times

Animal Ethics

Our experience on the ground confirms your reporting that this trade is increasingly tied to organized crime. This holds true whether it is in the Democratic Republic of Congo or right here in New York City, where Cyrus R. 4, 2012 The writer is vice president for species conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society.