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Summer guide to bird taxonomy and systematics news

10,000 Birds

It’s mid-July, which among other things means that those of us in North America are starting to check local mudflats for returning shorebird migrants and waiting impatiently for the AOU to hurry up and create five species from the Clapper-King rail complex (the reasons for which we covered last year ). Elephant birds and their kiwi kin.

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Life Birds at Point Reyes National Seashore

10,000 Birds

We were woefully under-prepared in terms of planning – which almost kept us from meeting our friends – but we were also surprised and thrilled to learn that not only were Gray Whales migrating past the lighthouse, but Elephant Seals were lounging on a nearby beach! White-crowned Sparrow. Elephant Seals. Think again!

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How to Bird Murchison Falls

10,000 Birds

If you’ve ever imagined being surrounded by giraffes, up close (at least as close as is safe) and personal with elephants, or one night drive away from seeing notorious predators like leopards and jackals, this is the place for you. Murchison Falls NP truly excels as a place to see the kind of wild mammals Africa is legendary for.

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Madikwe; Paradise Restored

10,000 Birds

I was planning a trip to South Africa, I had about five days to fill, I wanted to get a bunch of desert species (particularly the Springbok – not a bird) in a way that wasn’t too hard to reach from Johannesburg. Madikwe has perhaps too many elephants. And lo, it was good. I stumbled on Madikwe completely by accident.

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Tanzania – Africa at its best

10,000 Birds

This country boasts over 1,000 bird species, vast wildernesses, a superb network of protected areas, the greatest concentration of large game and predators on the planet, excellent lodges and friendly people. The Baobab-studded woodlands and wetlands of the park harbor over 550 bird species and they sure come thick and fast!

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The Cattle Egret Expansion

10,000 Birds

When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. This species is primarily an insectivore. a Cattle Egret in Brooklyn.

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Little Big Year – Week 35: Route 66, Tucumcari and The Albuquerque area

10,000 Birds

Lesser Goldfinches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Vesper Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrows , and lots and lots of Mourning Doves have taken up residence in what used to be open water. This did open up the area to a few new species, like this Wilson’s Warbler. US species – 234.