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The Changing Fortunes of Europe’s Vultures – Part 3 The Egyptian Vulture

10,000 Birds

The most recent estimates suggest that some 1,500 pairs breed in Spain. That’s about half of the entire European breeding population. The population of Egyptian Vultures in Italy is nearing extinction, with fewer than 10 pairs, and numbers are also going down in the Balkans, now with fewer than 70 pairs.

2004 226
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Cypriot Delights: Part I

10,000 Birds

First recorded breeding on the island in 2013, this dove is now both widespread and common. Cyprus Wheatears are the easiest to find of the three endemic birds that occur on Cyprus Black Francolins once bred in Portugal, Spain and Italy, all countries from which this handsome little game bird has long been lost.

Cyprus 213
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Birding Yibin, Sichuan

10,000 Birds

It seems that the Red-billed Leiothrix can be vocally dominant (it accounts for 37% of an entire bird community soundscape in northern Italy) and can influence the singing behavior, particularly of native Eurasian Blackcaps and European Robins (in Portugal and Italy). What a weird world. Better watch them in the wild.

Italy 185
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The Hidden Qualities of House Sparrows

10,000 Birds

As we move from Spain towards the east however, it starts getting interesting as soon as we reach Italy. Italy has an almost endemic … well … “form” of Sparrow, the Italian Sparrow , whose taxonomic affinities and rank have been a matter of dispute ever since scientists started to think about it.

Sparrows 214
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Quinta do Casal Branco: Lobo e Falcão Reserva (2016)

10,000 Birds

After three visits to southern Italy, followed by a lone excursion to Belgium, we’ll head back south to end our month-long “Grand Tour” of falconry-themed wine and ales in Portugal. The estate is also a stud farm for puro sangue Lusitano horses, considered one of the world’s oldest breeds.

2016 127
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Bird Conservation News: The Good, The Bad (and Ugly), and More Good

10,000 Birds

Confiscated from a poacher in Brescia, Italy, this robin will be released to fly away into an uncertain world, where habitat is threatened and predators and poachers await. The population of Millerbirds on Laysan has doubled , and breeding seems to be going well. Photo by David Guttenfelder, courtesy of National Geographic ).

Cambodia 143
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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 121