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  1. Michael Frankis

    What EXACTLY is "conservation"?

    For too many people, it is a typo for 'conversation' . . . lots of talk and no action :storm: Trouble is I'm guilty of that too . . .
  2. Michael Frankis

    Gull help please

    No, that's a distinct species, readily distinguished by having only one leg. As I'm sure you know, number of legs is an important classification feature in the Animal Kingdom. Michael
  3. Michael Frankis

    Gull help please

    Language is a bit of a problem, but nothing like so bad as lack of funding & visas for travel to, and research time in, the wintering grounds - Russian scientists don't have much money (if any!) Some of the wintering grounds are inaccessible as well - any volunteers for researching the gulls...
  4. Michael Frankis

    Gull help please

    Interesting - in botany, the Russians are the biggest splitters, and the Dutch the biggest lumpers . . . Michael
  5. Michael Frankis

    Gjelder hele Svalbard?

    Tho' come to think of it, I've never come across a black Polar Bear before! :eek!:
  6. Michael Frankis

    Gjelder hele Svalbard?

    'Valid for the whole of Svalbard' i.e., beware Polar Bears wherever you go there! Michael
  7. Michael Frankis

    Gull help please

    One very famous top ornithologist came very close to doing so . . . although Linnaeus would have been very familiar with Herring Gulls, the only large gulls he accepted specific rank for were L. marinus and L. fuscus. Herring Gull didn't make the grade as far as Linnaeus was concerned; it only...
  8. Michael Frankis

    How's your 2004 year list going?

    If you're adding those, I'll add Tarrock ;) :king:
  9. Michael Frankis

    Stupid Rabbits

    Errr . . . Chilli = Capsicum annuum. They're the same thing. ;) Looks like Elizabeth has some curry junkie squirrels, they'll be raiding the local Indian takeaway next . . . Michael
  10. Michael Frankis

    new member

    Welcome to BirdForum! Think of all the mosquitos those bats are eating . . . bats are brilliant to have around, they do you no harm at all, and a LOT of good! Michael
  11. Michael Frankis

    One eye out the window at work

    Brilliant! :-O
  12. Michael Frankis

    Which Chickadee in St. Louis

    From Harrap & Quinn, Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers, you have Carolinas; the boundary in in the St Louis area runs along the Missouri River, a fairly good natural barrier to small birds like these two. But you will probably get a few hybrids in the area too. Pop over the bridge to St...
  13. Michael Frankis

    Comment by 'Michael Frankis' in media 'Up close and personal'

    Worth adding that juvenile Bank Swallow often has a buffy throat - this isn't shown well in most feild guides, though some do mention it Michael
  14. Michael Frankis

    Gull ID

    Hi Alejandro, Gulls have two moults each year, a full moult (all of the feathers, including the flight feathers: primaries, secondaries, tail feathers) after the breeding season (August to October here; presumably February-April where you are), and a partial moult (just the small head & body...
  15. Michael Frankis

    Gull help please

    I favour lumping all the large white-headed gulls into one species. The applicable species name is the first-named, which is Larus marinus Linnaeus 1758. i.e., Sea Gull. :king:
  16. Michael Frankis

    Gull help please

    Just to muddy it a bit more, traditionally, heuglini, taimyrensis, and barabensis have been treated as races of Herring . . . Michael
  17. Michael Frankis

    Gull ID

    To elaborate a bit, note the solidly black (now faded to brown) outer primaries and greater coverts, which form (if seen in flight) a 'V' right across each wing; also the white secondaries. The black feet are useful pointers to Kitti, as is the yellow bill, here still showing the dark tip of...
  18. Michael Frankis

    Gull ID

    Hi Ben, First-summer Kittiwake Michael
  19. Michael Frankis

    help with warbler ID

    Anyone else any thoughts?
  20. Michael Frankis

    Hello

    Hi Stuart, Welcome to BirdForum! Whereabouts in København? - do you know Utterslev Mose? (I used to go there a lot during school hols, as my grandparents lived nearby) Michael
  21. Michael Frankis

    Deer/Bear

    Can't see many people wanting to disobey that sign, with the enforcement officer there . . .
  22. Michael Frankis

    Chestnut Munias (Escapee's?) in the Yucatan

    Seems to be several places around the world where they're feral, so some cause for concern, certainly. Michael
  23. Michael Frankis

    Help ID

    Hi Malky, That second link (direct pic link from it below) is a very good match - also shows the supercilium, which isn't depicted in (most) field guides http://www.abo.fi/~jlinden/US/Butpla08081.jpg Michael
  24. Michael Frankis

    Comment by 'Michael Frankis' in media 'Taken a shower'

    Pochard (Aythya ferina) Michael
  25. Michael Frankis

    Comment by 'Michael Frankis' in media 'Up close and personal'

    Very nice pic, but it is a Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia; UK: Sand Martin), not a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Note the forked tail; NRWS has a square-ended tail. Also the brown on the breast is too solid for NRWS. Michael
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