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Birding Hongbenghe, Yunnan

10,000 Birds

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Birds 147
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Survival of the Flexible

10,000 Birds

This particular example of flexibility comes from Tern Island, in French Frigate Shoals to the north of Hawaii. Although the islands are a cramped home to 18 species of seabird, the dominant and most charismatic of these are the two species of albatross, the Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses.

Albatross 178
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On Jeff Corwin's 100 HEARTBEATS

Animal Person

It has entertaining stories, includes animals people care about because they like them (and also addresses that concept), and it describes how the numbers of various species decreased to the point of being classified as "endangered" or worse. It's a great primer on extinction and conservation for the layperson.

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My First West Coast Pelagic Trip

10,000 Birds

To get out to the deep water we have to cruise for hours which necessitates leaving late in the evening, trying to sleep on an uncomfortable, moving boat, and waking up in the predawn hours to spend not-enough-time amid amazing birds before suffering through the long, boring ride through the “dead zone” back to shore.

Whales 109
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Petrel Paradise

10,000 Birds

Soon we were out of the protected harbour and into choppier waters, and here I have to say I suffered for about two hours from the dreaded affliction known as sea-sickness. The final large petrel species is another gadfly petrel, albeit a much larger one than the Cook’s Petrel.

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Stalking a Kiwi Icon

10,000 Birds

There are are presently thought to be five species of kiwi with a possible sixth extinct species, all of which have suffered varying degrees of range contraction since the arrival of humans. Both these tours are for the Little Spotted Kiwi , the smallest species and one now one mainly confined to offshore islands.