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15 Australian Birds (Episode 2)

10,000 Birds

Honeyeaters are a large bird family (190 species) with a strong presence in Australia. According to the HBW entry for this species, it “has been claimed that loss of native mammals after European settlement created shortage of nesting material, explaining this species’ penchant for taking hair from humans.”

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When birds attack!

10,000 Birds

In the event I’m in a life or death struggle with an Oregon Junco or a particularly feral Dunnock I’d rather my birding companion was at least nominally on my side. Sometimes nests are destroyed or even pairs are shot, but the highly individual nature of the species has actually led to improvements here as well.