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The Limpkin and the Snail

10,000 Birds

And while finding snails is not difficult for a long legged bird that is not afraid to wade into alligator-infested marshes it is difficult to extract the yummy snail meat from its protective shell. The snail was not very large but I was impressed with the size of the chunk of snail meat hiding in the recesses of the shell.

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Nyala, Southern Africa’s Stunning Antelope

10,000 Birds

By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox. One of the spiral-horned antelope (the antelopes are a huge family and much sub-divided) it resembles an intermediate between a Lesser Kudu and a Bushbuck , albeit with much longer and more attractive hair on the males.

Africa 225
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Protecting the Hyacinth Macaw and the Cerrado

10,000 Birds

The Hyacinth Macaw is more than just another pretty face; these birds are social with strong family values. The Hyacinth Macaw doesn’t start a family until it is seven years old. They like to fly in pairs or groups and in the evening they come together in big groups to roost in a favorite ‘dormitory’ tree.

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Castellare di Castellina: Chianti Classico (2019)

10,000 Birds

In fact, the family name Lanius derives from a Latin word for “butcher”, though the “butcherbird” was a butcher long before humans even developed the language to describe these activities. Who knows – perhaps early humans got the idea of cutting and hanging meat by watching these shrikes at work in their arboreal abbatoirs?

2019 264
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Birds at Rockaway Beach

10,000 Birds

It literally tossed it in the air several times as it tried to separate the meat from the shell. I’m much less embarrassed by this Gull-billed Tern shot because, despite the family that has been hanging out for weeks this summer on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay, they are usually tough to find in Queens.

Goats 245
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15 Australian Birds (Episode 1)

10,000 Birds

One of my most vivid memories of watching The Sopranos – still the best TV series ever, in my opinion – is Tony outside barbecuing, occasionally turning the different pieces of meat. The Australasian Figbird is a member of the Oriole family despite not being yellow. Female below.

Australia 259
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Frogs and Toads of the World: A Book Review by a Fairy Tale Junkie

10,000 Birds

For example, I was going to add “no tail” to the list of features above, what all frogs share, when I remembered that there are indeed a small family of Tailed frogs, four species in New Zealand and two in North America (though, the tails are quite tiny). But, within the frog group there is a tremendous range of diversity.

Reptiles 244