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What is the National Bird of Italy?

10,000 Birds

Italy has no national bird! Some places on the web claim that the national bird of Italy is the “bluebird” but this is so untrue that it does not make sense. Some places on the web claim that the national bird of Italy is the “bluebird” but this is so untrue that it does not make sense.

Italy 224
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The Hidden Qualities of House Sparrows

10,000 Birds

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 246
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The slaughter tourism trade in Serbia

10,000 Birds

Turtle Doves have been declining in Europe since the 1970s, and in this century alone, the continent has lost 40% of its population of the species. Since this spring’s revision of the European Red List, the Turtle Dove is listed as a vulnerable species. The cargo was meant to be sold as delicacies to restaurants in Italy.

Serbia 270
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“The Pines of Florence”: Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico (2018)

10,000 Birds

One of the nice things about winter finch irruptions is that they usually take place across two calendar years, allowing ardent listers to tick the very same species in January for their new year lists as they saw in the final weeks of the previous year. After all, it could be years before some of them come back again.

2018 238
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Birding Yibin, Sichuan

10,000 Birds

The Latin species name alphonsiana refers to Prof. Of course, the Red-billed Leiothrix is a species native to Sichuan – in Britain, it is now discussed whether to regard it as an invasive species ( source ). While the Buffy Laughingthrush is a nice-looking bird, its Latin species name berthemyi is quite unfortunate.

Italy 225
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The Changing Fortunes of Europe’s Vultures – Part 3 The Egyptian Vulture

10,000 Birds

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. Is the loss of populations and species of birds the price to be paid for a miniscule reduction in the carbon footprint? Where is the sustainability in that?

2004 268
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Cypriot Delights: Part I

10,000 Birds

Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. The song is highly distinctive.

Cyprus 243