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Ten Birds That Changed the World — a review

10,000 Birds

They were barely mentioned in The Voyage of the Beagle and not at all in On the Origin of Species. Hundreds of millions of sparrows were killed, almost to the point of extinction. Later it was thought that the widely varying beak sizes and types of those phenotypes inspired Darwin’s insights, a la Newton and his apple.

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Birding the Kruger Park (4): Letaba area

10,000 Birds

As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts. Others are being killed for use in traditional medicine.

Zimbabwe 147
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Namibia’s 15 key birds

10,000 Birds

After a brutal colonization that included genocidal campaigns against the Herero (80% killed) and Nama (50% killed) tribes, the Germans lost control when South Africa invaded soon after the declaration of the First World War. This species is also known as Peach-faced Lovebird.

Namibia 245
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Africa’s Big Five and Little Five

10,000 Birds

Elephant The big – two species of elephant are now recognized as occuring in Africa, the smaller and more secretive Forest Elephant and the larger, more familiar African or Bush Elephant. Prime destinations for seeing African Elephant in the wild include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda.

Buffalo 197
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The Storks of Africa

10,000 Birds

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. They have even been known to kill children who have been incautious enough to approach too closely.

Africa 235
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). These are behaviors that are most likely to vary across species and topics that make for compelling stories.

Owls 203