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If you are fortunate to have the chance to examine a recently dead bird, even one brought home from the poulterer with plumage intact, spend a little time examining the feathers carefully and note down various points of interest.

— James Macdonald Instructions to Young Ornithologists (1959)

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More quotes by James Macdonald

Horny projections which look more like teeth are found in the beaks of a special group of ducks represented in Britain by Goosander and Merganser, sometimes known as "sawbills". In these birds the beak is narrow and the "teeth" are used for gripping fish.

Instructions to Young Ornithologists (1959)

The Cuckoo may easily be mistaken for a male Sparrow-hawk in flight. They are identical in size and are similarly barred below. The illusion is often fostered in late summer by young cuckoos being seen in flight with their foster-parents, much smaller birds ...

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: James Macdonald (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.