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Urban Ornithology: 150 Years of Birds in New York City–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Everyone is looking back on their best birds of 2019, so I thought it would be a good idea to look at a book that looks back a little further: Urban Ornithology: 150 Years of Birds in New York City , by P. Buckley, Walter Sedwitz, William J. Norse, and John Kieran. “Wait! ” you’re probably saying.

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Don’t Feed The Birds!

10,000 Birds

The behavior could be especially disastrous for waterfowl, which are hunted by people, but less so for passerines, or perching birds, which regularly come into people’s bird feeders. The former is worse than the latter, though in some jurisdictions both would actually be considered illegal.

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A Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: Senator George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate

10,000 Birds

Plume hunting raged supreme 150 years ago, when egret feathers were part of a worldwide trade in feathers and other bird parts, used for women’s hats and other articles of clothing (but mostly hats), delighting the upper classes and practically wiping out bird species. It has become the cornerstone of U.S.