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The Hidden Qualities of House Sparrows

10,000 Birds

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 210
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A Problem with Gulls

10,000 Birds

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157
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I Love eBird and You Should Too!

10,000 Birds

But, even better, part of the profile is a heat map that allows you to view the number of species you (or others) have seen in different regions from the county level to world wide! I don’t want some researcher a hundred years from now wondering if my single-observer White-winged Dove in Queens was real so I had to add a photo.

New York 159
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Polygynandry and avian swingers

10,000 Birds

These Blasts From The Past Striped Basilisk Lizard Lore Herps in Rockland County and Orange County Diamondback Terrapin at Jamaica Bay The Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) Lizards of Kazakhstan About the Author Dale Forbes Dale got his first pair of binoculars for a very early birthday after his dad realized that it was the only way to be left in peace.

2011 205
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Best Bird of the Year for 2015

10,000 Birds

During my previous five trips to Indonesia, I only heard but never caught a glimpse of three species. Now my tally stands at four species seen and a fifth heard-only. At least in the northeastern United States, their rate of so doing is high, according to research I summarized here. A country-first? That’ll do nicely!

2015 182