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Hornbills of South Africa

10,000 Birds

It is a relatively small hornbill, and not very shy – some photos below were taken on the campgrounds of Kruger Park, which more or less seem to be the species’ natural habitat by now. While I write this, the vessel is on a trip from Shekou, China to Callao, Peru, presumably to pick up some ore, most likely copper ore.

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Cepas de Loro: Pisco Puro Muscatel

10,000 Birds

So, it just might be that pisco – the beloved South American grape brandy contentiously claimed by both Peru and Chile – is the only spirit named after birds. The name of the liquor is likely borrowed from the city of Pisco on Peru’s central coast, an important port for the pisco trade in the early days of the Spanish viceroyalty.

Peru 126
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The Brown and Peruvian Pelicans

10,000 Birds

The Brown Pelican and the Peruvian Pelican are closely related and once were considered the same species. The Peruvian Pelican is restricted to the cold water of the Humboldt Current along the coast of Peru and Chile. The species reached pre-pesticide numbers by the late 1990s and was fully delisted in 2009.

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Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

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Spotted Thick-knee

10,000 Birds

In southern Africa, there are two species. As I watched, it slowly moved into a patch of dried vegetation and I noticed that it was settling over a single egg. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate. I too am fascinated by the name of this species. How do we know this?

2011 170
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Why Do Penguins Wear Tuxedos?

10,000 Birds

Artists rendition of Inkayacu paracasensis There are 17 living species of penguins, which make up their own Linnean family (Spheniscidae), which is the only family in the order Sphenisciformes. Penguins are flightless, but some species locomote over long distances on antarctic ice to travel between breeding grounds and the sea.

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Best Bird of the Year 2012

10,000 Birds

This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. 2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama.

2012 155