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Birding the Drakensberg, South Africa

10,000 Birds

For some reason that is hard for me to fathom, there is no such bird as a Cape Woodpecker. The Common Waxbill looks like it belongs in a pet shop rather than in the wild. In fact, this is probably a species that has substantially expanded its original range through the pet shop route and the resulting escapees.

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The Rose-ringed Parakeets of Heidelberg

10,000 Birds

Here in Germany, we don’t wish we had. Yes, Germany has parrots, or parakeets to be more precise. Unlike North America, Germany has never had naturally occurring psittacines that went extinct, and the one we have is a true and complete invasive alien introduction. Because we never have had. Very stupid thing to do.

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