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NYT Equine Thought Experiment

Animal Person

The New York Times presents us, this morning, with "Equine Alternative" regarding the recent discovery that horses decided to allow themselves be domesticated by humans for our mutual benefit, earlier than we had thought (3500 BC, and we preciously thought it was more like 2500 BC). The Botai did not just herd horses for meat.

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Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens at Geikie Gorge

10,000 Birds

The species is only in the north of Australia and they are often found in locations that are hard to get to year round. We have been able to observe Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens in a few locations across the north of Australia and they were quite easy to see in the car-park at Big Horse Creek in 2017. Female Purple-crowned Fairy-wren.

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A rush of blood to the head

10,000 Birds

Rather, I am speaking of what a certain group of birds must experience every day. These are the few species who prefer to spend their lives hanging upside-down. We each have reasons to give special love to certain species. And those species that like to hang upside-down definitely amuse me.

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Fourth of January 2016)

10,000 Birds

So, do you prefer rambunctious horses or big cats better? I got a good dose of seaducks this weekend up at the mouth of Irondequoit Bay; the most interesting species amidst the mixed flocks was a lone Bufflehead hobnobbing with Common Goldeneyes. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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Diving New Zealand – Goat Island

10,000 Birds

Not because you generally see many birds while diving, although the experience of seeing shearwaters flying underwater while cage diving, as I once did, was one I think most birders would enjoy. In my opinion, if you’re a birder you should diver too. Kina, or Sea Urchin. Long-tailed Ray ( Dasyatis thetidis ). Nudibranch.

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Junco Mashup

10,000 Birds

There’s a little hint of white in the malar and throat too, which would seem to be a problem for the species Black- chinned Sparrow. As the old saying goes, “when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras” This is not an easy bird, but it is expected. New Jersey mystery sparrow.

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Birding Iceland on the Fly

10,000 Birds

I can hardly begin to describe the surreal experience that unfolded before me. Hundreds of birds all huddled closely together, dangling from the jagged ledges, seemingly separated by species in separate levels along the cliff. It is truly a magical place, an experience like none other. Patience, thus, is key.

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