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Grallards: New Zealand’s Next Extinction or Newest Species?

10,000 Birds

The obvious choice was the Mallard , that plucky familiar northern hemisphere species that is the father of the even more familiar domesticated duck. In fact, as the species was quickly identified as as creating hybrids with Grey Ducks, the opinion was by the 1920s that the species shouldn’t be released further.

Species 175
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Bird Families of the World by Winkler, Billerman and Lovette

10,000 Birds

Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. 11,000 species require lots of money and a good portion of one’s life. That gamble is rigged, so the house always wins.

Family 299
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What is a “Nonessential Experimental” California Condor?

10,000 Birds

Of course, the California Condor is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it has been famously subject to some of the most ambitious conservation efforts (including litigation ) ever undertaken for a bird. One management tool used by FWS is reintroduction of an endangered species into its former range.

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The Eurasian Collared-Dove Explosion: Coming to a Town Near You!

10,000 Birds

The northwestern spread of this non-native species made it to my yard a few years ago. The lightest shade of lavender coincides with a 0 – 2% frequency of sightings, the next darker shade 2 – 10%, the next 10 – 25%, the next 25 – 40% and the darkest (almost black) shade is a 40 – 100% occurrence of the species.

2002 190
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Greater Rheas: Germany’s new Big Bird

10,000 Birds

Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures. On the contrary, the birds were quite satisfied with their new-found freedom and realms, and started breeding immediately after their escape in the spring of 2001, much to everyone’s surprise.

Germany 262
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South Africa’s endemic birds

10,000 Birds

Originally considered monotypic, two species are now recognized. Drakensberg (or Orange-breasted) Rockjumper is a Drakensberg Mountain species whose range is shared with the tiny landlocked kingdom of Lesotho. Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage. the Rockjumpers.

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Italian Sparrow?

10,000 Birds

How can two species interbreed into a new species? They took blood samples from the birds in order to extract DNA. If the birds had been breeding, the scientists say that they would have found genetic “intermediates&# – birds with genes from both species.

Sparrows 154