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Swarovski Skills Camp, or men and their toys

10,000 Birds

I am still tired from the long drive, but it was great to play with the very best toys for birders, to be able to share experiences and to ask the factory staff all sorts of silly questions. At the end of the 20th century (and before the ELs were born), the factory hired consultants to help it restructure and maximise profits.

Austria 298
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Business Birding Basics – part II

10,000 Birds

First, he was mostly focused on the mammals. The antwren had been elevated to species level and Hilton is just a sucker for anything Paulista, and besides, who needs a reason to go birding? Apart from a juvenile Southern Beardless Tyrannulet we were just seeing roads and factories. Of course, the trip was a disaster.

Birds 231
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Birding Shanghai in February 2022

10,000 Birds

The Common Pochard is listed as Vulnerable – not because it is particularly rare, but because of the rapid decline in its numbers (a decline of 50% within 10 years means a species is listed as Vulnerable – and a 50% loss in 10 years sounds quite dramatic and frightening indeed). And it does not even live in reeds.

Raccoons 224
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Getting the Bill – Taste, Touch and Smell in Birds

10,000 Birds

But how birds use these different senses, like the diversity in bill size and shape, varies almost as much from species to species. Pale-mandibled Aracari by Luke Seitz Taste, touch and smell in birds are generally considered to be weaker than these same senses in mammals. The longest bird bill relative to body-size.

Birds 222
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The Gap Between Wildlife and the Animal Rights Movement

10,000 Birds

The animal rights movement is (rightly) closely associated with protesting things like factory farming, dogfighting, etc…basically, the mistreatment of animals. What’s even more frustrating is when animal rights people learn of plans to cull nonnative species. This makes perfect sense.