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The Famous Grouse: Smoky Black Blended Scotch Whisky

10,000 Birds

But seeing as the month is also bookended by Hogmanay and Burns Night, we’ll gladly take the opportunity to visit– in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whisky was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them. He’s even been given a name: Gilbert. . Gilbert: The Famous Grouse.

Sheep 208
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Redbreast Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (12-Year)

10,000 Birds

But seeing as the month is also bookended by Hogmanay and Burns Night, we’ll gladly take the opportunity to visit– in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whiskey was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them.

Ireland 166
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Birding Shanghai in February 2023

10,000 Birds

In somewhat dubious English, the abstract of one paper on this species by Chinese authors states that “ Pycnonotus sinens has got used to the city life and become a kind of city bird that are closely associated with human” (of course, my Chinese – spoken only anyway – is far worse than this English).

Birds 130
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The Cattle Egret Expansion

10,000 Birds

When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. The species spread north to the Mediterranean, reaching parts of Spain and southern Europe, spread along the Atlantic coast of France and, at times, even reaching Britain and Ireland.

Cattle 170
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The true “Mediterranean” Gull

10,000 Birds

The coast of the Mediterranean Sea is used mostly as a wintering ground, with just a handful of breeding colonies between Greece, northern Italy and eastern Spain (and recently through central Europe all the way to Ireland). So there you have it: conservative taxonomy leads to unfortunate common names.

Europe 128
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On "Discarded" Greyhounds

Animal Person

The modern day racing greyhound's life is conditioned purely by economics - if it’s too old or slow to compete as a gambling medium - it will be disposed of as cheaply as possible and swiftly replaced with one that can, from endless supply which are bred in Ireland with the aid of EU funding.

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Acclimatisation Societies of New Zealand

10,000 Birds

A housecat in Buenos Aires got its start in Africa, a sheep in Australia to the Middle East, a chicken in Ireland can trace its origin to the jungles of Asia. Secondly, New Zealand had already experienced on wave of extinction due to the introduction or rats and human hunting.