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Crested and Proud

10,000 Birds

Quite a few bird species have crests. Their main use is to display – either to communicate with other members of the species or to scare other species, as a raised crest makes the bird appear larger. In fact, crests occur in at least 20 of the 30 orders of extant birds, and in all major groups of passerines.

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The return of the Old Man

10,000 Birds

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills goes on to give greater detail of the former nesting sites in Europe: it could once be found “in southern Germany and Austria, in the valleys of the upper Rhine and Danube Rivers, and in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy and Germany, and perhaps in Hungary and Greece”.

Morocco 217
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Whooper Swans at Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido

10,000 Birds

On the one hand, they are very easy to see in Germany, swimming in public parks or teaching pensioners how to eat bread. And now we get to the part of the post in which I briefly and unscientifically mention a few research papers on the species to have a reason to post a few more of my photos.

China 205
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The Collins Bird Guide, 3rd edition

10,000 Birds

The 1st edition from 1999 was a complete revolution in just about everything, but predominantly the quality and realism of illustrations, showing what a field guide could be and seriously raising the threshold for other publishers. The section with vagrants has been expanded to accommodate more images and longer texts for several species.

Europe 249
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Birding Yibin, Sichuan

10,000 Birds

Yibin is a typical smallish Chinese city (which in China means slightly above 850,000 people in the metro area, which would make it the fifth-biggest city in Germany but does not get it into the top 100 in China). The Latin species name alphonsiana refers to Prof. What a weird world. Better watch them in the wild.

Italy 182
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Germany’s Great Bustards and how to see them

10,000 Birds

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. Now that I might have wetted your appetite, here’s where and how to find them in Germany: 1.

Germany 101
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Birding a monastery: Zhaga, Western Sichuan

10,000 Birds

Maybe these people like challenges – at least here at the monastery, getting good shots of this species is quite easy. Another species apparently enjoying the proximity of a monastery is the White-winged Grosbeak. The Black-rumped Magpie is one of the four new species that were split from the Eurasian Magpie in 2018.

Birds 204