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Crested and Proud

10,000 Birds

In fact, crests occur in at least 20 of the 30 orders of extant birds, and in all major groups of passerines. 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. Crests are made of feathers.

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Question about wild ducks and how they raise ducklings

Reddit Animals

Yesterday I saw two small ducklings in a group of ducks and geese, but their mom didn’t seem to be around them or attentive. Can someone explain a bit more about duck behavior with their babies? Are ducklings generally safe with other ducks that aren’t their parents? Will ducks “babysit” or adopt ducklings that have been abandoned?

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Out Birding to Help an Endemic Sparrow in Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

Carman have organized a Birdathon to raise funds for the Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow project. This year, they hope to raise funds to: Purchase more telemetry equipment and transmitters with a solar panel. Carry out workshops and train more people locally on how to do telemetry properly. Check out the video!

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An afternoon in the Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

10,000 Birds

A little further, there’s a family group of Savannah Elephants with two two-year olds. Those that crossed the road first are waiting for the rest of the group at the other side. They raise their trunks, sniffing the air. The dirt road winds in between rocky outcrops – kopjes, by Burchell’s Zebras and Greater Kudus. Sniffing us.

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The Dracula Bird

10,000 Birds

But when raised, they seem to have a sort of weird cape. In other words, they never raise their own young. Instead, they lay their eggs in other species’ nests, and let those nest-making birds (often significantly smaller than the cowbirds) raise their young. In fact, this is not even a particularly large group.

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Birding Yibin, Sichuan

10,000 Birds

According to the McMurray hatchery , the “Silver Pheasant is considered a good ‘starter’ breed for people who want to learn more about raising pheasants” Hm. In one group, they added a blue egg to their nests. But then, would a lady pheasant be pleased to be described as “large”? What a weird world.

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On the Lake with American White Pelicans

10,000 Birds

Active feeders, they move across the surface in tightly-packed groups, heads dipping beneath the water over and over and over in search of fish. I cross my fingers that they make it safely, raising voracious chicks before returning to the Sunshine State once more.

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