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Castellare di Castellina: Chianti Classico (2019)

10,000 Birds

In fact, the family name Lanius derives from a Latin word for “butcher”, though the “butcherbird” was a butcher long before humans even developed the language to describe these activities. Who knows – perhaps early humans got the idea of cutting and hanging meat by watching these shrikes at work in their arboreal abbatoirs?

2019 209
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15 Australian Birds (Episode 1)

10,000 Birds

One of my most vivid memories of watching The Sopranos – still the best TV series ever, in my opinion – is Tony outside barbecuing, occasionally turning the different pieces of meat. Contrary to alleged preferences among humans, the golden-headed cisticola has a shorter tail during the breeding season ( source ).

Australia 180
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What’s in a Name: Northern Goshawk

10,000 Birds

Since we’ve covered some generalities already, once a month I’ll be exploring how a species, genus, or family of birds got its name, and how those names fit in with our larger understanding of, and relationship with, birds. At the request of blog management, I’m embarking on a series of posts on the names of birds.

Falcons 258
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Nyala, Southern Africa’s Stunning Antelope

10,000 Birds

By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox. In some ways the the flowering of the antelopes as an evolutionary group mirrors our own story, as they benefited and spread widely as the world’s forests gave way to savannah and plains, just like humans.

Africa 162
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A few Barbets

10,000 Birds

I saw it in a park in Delhi, and indeed the HBW remarks that it “has adapted well to human habitation, and is common and widespread in the parks and gardens of cities such as Delhi” (I once had a visitor from India here in Shanghai, and he asked me if/why there are no birds in Shanghai. That Smith Family is so depressing”.

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The Struggle to Save the Birds of Honduras

10,000 Birds

Everyone talks about human rights and there exists so many groups that are either governmental or non-governmental who work toward that cause. Many birds around the world in the Robin family ( Turdidae ) are favorites due to their musical songs. The quail, guans, ducks and pheasant are hunted for their meat.

Honduras 185
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"Change of Heart": New Book about Animal Activism

Critter News

The author is Nick Cooney and he's the Director of The Humane League, an animal advocacy non-profit with offices in Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington DC. For example, why is it so hard for our family members and co-workers – many of whom have companion animals that they love – to cut cruelty from their diets and go vegan?

Advocacy 100