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The Beautiful and Colorful Mourning Dove

10,000 Birds

Their habitats vary widely in both rural and urban landscapes; open habitats are preferred and the species generally shuns only extensively forested areas and wetlands 1. To show how adaptive this species is, the following photograph was sent to me by one of my readers and I use it with her permission.

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I and the Bird: What is a Vulture?

10,000 Birds

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. millions years ago.

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Shearwater Chase in Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

I strained to see them, could only see an occasional booby escape our bow, watch some of the hundreds of Wedge-tailed and Pink-footed Shearwaters zip by and hold on as our boat tested its speed. As we approached and drew nearly alongside the small seabirds, we also tested the limits of our optics, our balance, and our focus.

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Black-footed Albatrosses Rock!

10,000 Birds

For the most part the Black-footed Albatross is an all-American bird, with 97% of their population breeding in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (in the District of Hawaii), and a few others breeding in islands owned by Mexico and Japan. I was lucky to work with the species on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals.

Albatross 157
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Great Egrets and the reliability of field marks

10,000 Birds

I was still telling the truth when I mentioned the four subspecies, species, taxa, forms, you name it, of the Great Egret: modesta (Asia), alba (Europe, Asia), egretta (Americas) and melanorhynchos (Africa). This is particularly interesting for birders in North America and Europe (duh!), If not, it is here. This is easy.

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Have You Ever Seen a Bufflehead Search for a Nesting Cavity?

10,000 Birds

There are quite a few species of duck that nest in cavities. Buffleheads , being the smallest North American diving ducks, are able to nest in cavities created by the Northern Flicker with an entrance hole measuring only 2 1/2 inches, allowing them to nest in cavities too small for the other larger cavity nesting ducks.

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Gulls Simplified: A Gull Book Review

10,000 Birds

Even more than warbler, shorebird, and sparrow identification, this is a field that tests our endurance (gull watching is too often done in bitter cold, windy conditions), patience (even getting one good photo can take hours as you try to separate the ‘interesting gull’ from the flock), observational skills (so many plumages!)