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The return of the Old Man

10,000 Birds

According to Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World , a handsome volume written by James Hancock, James Kushan and Philip Kohl and published by Academic Press in 1992, Geronticus eremita “once nested in the mountains of central Europe, across northern Africa and into the Middle East. But this range is now much reduced.

Morocco 223
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The Wryneck: Biology, Behaviour, Conservation and Symbolism of Jynx torquilla: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

They may eat other insects if they have to, but all they really want are ants and Gorman lists 24 species of ant that are part of their diet in Europe, any life stage will do. Gorman’s personal field experience informs much of the text and his total grasp of the field means he relates one research finding to another with narrative ease.

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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 209
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The long and winding road

10,000 Birds

B95 and his Calidris canutus rufa kin may travel back and forth from South America to the Arctic, but another subspecies of Red Knot , Calidris canutus islandica , makes the journey up here from Great Britain and other parts of Europe. Anywhere from 3-8 very pale blue eggs are laid, incubated by both parents.

Africa 195
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De arte venandi cum avibus: San Martino Siir (2015) – Aglianico del Vulture DOC

10,000 Birds

There had been works on falconry before Frederick’s time: treatises on falconry date back to the 10 th century in Europe, and King Harold of England (of Battle of Hastings fame) reputedly owned the largest collection of volumes devoted to the subject in all of Europe.

2015 113
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The Great Bustard Search is On (2)

10,000 Birds

This species has suffered rapid population reductions across most of its range owing to the loss, degradation and fragmentation of its habitat and land-use changes in eastern Europe, says IUCN’s Red List. Yet, David, who has much more experience with bustards, isn’t convinced: “In winter, some females develop bristles, too.”.

Hungary 145
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Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide–A Review

10,000 Birds

Gorman, a Brit who now resides in Central Europe, is a naturalist and tour leader who specializes in Eastern Europe and woodpeckers. He has authored Woodpeckers of Europe (2004), Birding in Eastern Europe (2006), a monograph on The Black Woodpecker (2011), and numerous popular and scholarly articles.