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Acclimatisation Societies of New Zealand

10,000 Birds

New Zealand has a very odd biota these days. They took dogs to Australia, chickens across the Pacific, rabbits to England, horses to the New World, and then brought potatoes back. So that New Zealand would end up with quite a few species of animal not originally found here is hardly surprising of itself.

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Pieces of the New Zealand Puzzle

10,000 Birds

But today, briefly, let’s recall that I am supposed to be the New Zealand beat writer. I’m pleased to do this because two bits of the puzzle of New Zealand’s faunal history were in the news today, and besides, it means I don’t have to think about some tropical idyll in this miserable Antipodean winter day.

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Road birding in New Zealand

10,000 Birds

So, inspired by a similar article on road birding in Thailand, I present road birding in New Zealand. As with any kind of road birding, birding as a car passenger in New Zealand generally restricts the kind of birds you’re going to see. 2) Masked Plover Masked Plover ( Vanellus miles ) by James Reed.

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“Getting Closer” — a book review

10,000 Birds

A bird that sees a human walk into a bird blind, he says, may become wary and stay away. The state of the world, and dangers to all creatures, including humans, are the subject of his good written Introduction, and they also inform the book as a whole. Exisle Publishing, Chatswood, Australia and Dunedin, New Zealand.

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Talking Starlings

10,000 Birds

A European Starling in New Zealand made the news this week. This particular species is not native to New Zealand (similar to its status in North America). The bird is now bonded to humans and an ambassador to her class and the bird has quite the vocabular y.

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Book Review: Spillover – Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic

10,000 Birds

If you’re feeling fearful or ignorant, well, I can recommend vox.com’s coverage (as in most things), but you could also do worse that picking up Spillover – Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen. This lake is close to the cave. My photo of the cave was bad, sorry.

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When conservation and animal rights collide

10,000 Birds

Animal rights is concerned with preventing the suffering or even use of animals by humans. This is a very serious business here in New Zealand. New Zealand has been the recipient of a higher than average number of introduced species, in particular a range of mammals from elk to mice.