ZooChat Big Year 2021

ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
Some more spring IDs

Bird:
28. American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Insect/Invertebrate:
22. Dusky raisin moth (Ephestiodes gilvescentella)

Herptile:
2. Pond slider/Red eared slider (Trachemys scripta) (ssp. elegans)
Click to expand...

I saw more spring wildlife yesterday, including my first amphibian of the year, finally, and also a group of wood ducks that have taken up residence at a nearby pond.

Birds:
29. Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
30. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
31. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Insect/Invertebrates:
23. Immigrant pavement ant (tetramorium immigrans)
24. Unequal cellophane bee (Colletes inaequalis)
25. Dunning’s miner bee (Andrena dunningi)

Herptile:
2. Pond slider/Red eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
3. Blanchard’s cricket frog (Acris blanchardi)
 
08/04/2021 (Ringselvennen, Budel)
BIRDS:
161) Purple heron, Ardea purpurea
162) Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
163) Mediterranean gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
 
birdsandbats said:
Birds
207. Winter Wren Troglodytes hiemalis
Click to expand...
birdsandbats said:
Herps
9. Eastern Gray Tree Frog Dryophytes versicolor (almost certainly seen before but this was the first time I was able to for sure ID one)

Fish
2. Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (the tilapia from Arizona identified)
Click to expand...
Birds
208. Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
209. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
210. Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
211. Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus

Fish
3. Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens
 
Dannelboyz said:
I was one off on my numbers because I accidentally counted ringneck parrot twice :p Now on 287 birds + 3 heard only.

BIRDS
280 - Olive-backed Oriole (Oriolus sagittatus)
281 - Pacific Koel (Eudynamys orientalis)
282 - Bush Stone-Curlew (Burhinus grallarius)
283 - Torresian Crow (Corvus orru)
284 - Brown Quail (Coturnix ypsilophora)
285 - Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus)
286 - Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae)
287 - Bar-breasted Honeyeater (Ramsayornis fasciatus)

MAMMALS
21 - Dingo (Canis lupus)

REPTILES
19 - Moon Snake (Furina ornata)
20 - Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)
21 - Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus)
22 - Mitchell's Water Monitor (Varanus mitchelli)

AMPHIBIANS
10 - Watjulum Frog (Litoria watjulumensi)
11 - Desert Tree Frog (Litoria rubella)
12 - Long-footed Frog (Cyclorana longipes)
Click to expand...
Haven't updated this in a while!

BIRDS
288 - Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)
289 - Green Oriole (Oriolus flavocinctus)
290 - Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus argus)
291 - Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)
292 - Red-chested Buttonquail (Turnix pyrrhothorax)
293 - Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox)
294 - Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)
295 - Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi)
296 - Pictorella Mannikin (Heteromunia pectoralis)
297 - Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)
298 - Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)
299 - White-quilled Rock Pigeon (Petrophassa albipennis)
300 - Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)
301 - Red-backed Buttonquail (Turnix maculosus)
302 - Flock Bronzewing (Phaps histrionica)
303 - Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis)
304 - Sandstone Shrikethrush (Colluricincla woodwardi)
305 - Grey-fronted Honeyeater (Ptilotula plumula)
306 - Green Pygmy Goose (Nettapus pulchellus)
307 - Wandering Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata)
308 - Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea)

MAMMALS
22 - Feral Cat (Felis catus)*
23 - Short-eared Rock Wallaby (Petrogale brachyotis)
24 - Ningbing False Antechinus (Pseudantechinus ningbing)

REPTILES
23 - Robust Ctenotus (Ctenotus robustus)
24 - Gracile Velvet Gecko (Oedura gracilis)

AMPHIBIANS
13 - Striped Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)
14 - Copland's Rock Frog (Litoria coplandi)
15 - Magnificent Tree Frog (Litoria splendida)
16 - Rockhole Frog (Litoria meiriana)

FISH
8 - Kimberley Archerfish (Toxotes kimberleyensis)
9 - Western Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia australis)
10 - Black Bream (Hephaestus jenkinsi)
11 - Flathead Goby (Glossogobius giuris)
12 - Sevenspot Archerfish (Toxotes chatareus)
13 - Freshwater Longtom (Strongylura krefftii)

(+3 bird, +1 mammal, +4 amphibian heard-onlies)
 
Mehdi said:
Well today was awesome! I went to Aghorimze this morning to catch up on some spring migrants and indeed the Oued Massa river banks as well as the fields circling it were full of birds, both individuals and species as I got a total of 46 species there of which some were not so bad...

04/04/2021 (Champs d'Aghorimze, Morocco)
BIRDS:
132 - Western orphean warbler, (Curruca hortensis)
133 - Common quail, (Coturnix coturnix)
134 - Black-necked grebe, Podiceps nigricollis (MOROCCAN BIRD #200)
135 - Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe

INVERTS:
13 - Speckled wood, Pararge aegeria

With the additions of two species to my Moroccan list this morning, I finally got to see my 200th Moroccan bird species! That was a milestone that has been looming since last year and took quite a while to reach this year because of a slow winter. Really nice for it to be a male summer plumage Black-necked grebe, a species that although isn't particularly rare isn't easy to see either and one which I had only seen once previously, in Spain.

The day also started amazingly with a lifer Western orphean warbler. Very stark looking with that white eye, they're one of the harder Sylviidae to get here so I'm happy I got that off the way (and it was an unexpected sighting at that!): I only need 4 Sylviidae to complete the Moroccan basket now.

Seeing not one, not two, not three but four Common quails fly at once was also a very special sighting. Common quails aren't rare at all here in spring but I think I overlooked them because before this year I hadn't bothered looking up their song/call and now that I have I heard at least 14 of them in the fields this morning.

A Northern wheatear on the road was an expected spring addition (but always nice to see) and a few other species like European bee-eater, Black-winged kite, Brown-throated martin, Little grebe and Common nightingale as well as many others were also great to see
Click to expand...

A decent outing this morning to look for migrant terns mainly did indeed bring two species of those but most importantly a goal species that I've been seeking to see since a while now!

10/04/2021 (Embouchure de l'Oued Souss, Morocco)
BIRDS:
136 - Black tern, Chlidonias niger
137 - Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
138 - Collared pratincole, Glareola pratincola

No particular date (Multiple places)
INVERTS:
14 - Red-veined darter, Sympetrum fonscolombii
15 - Lang's short-tailed blue, Leptotes pirithous
16 - Hyles livornica
17 - Small copper, Lycaena phlaeas

The day started nicely with a Black tern perching on a log, which is always a great species to see (especially in breeding plumage, only second time I see one in said plumage). Moving along, a nice group of 15 Gull-billed tern stopped on the bank of the river: they were my main goal today because they are a relatively easy species to get in spring (especially there) but are otherwise easily missable.

Best of all though is when I heard weird tern-like sounds I didn't recognize and when I looked up at the sky I saw swallow-like birds but larger in size and with a contrasting black/reddish underwing and white belly: I knew immediately that the three birds in question were Collared pratincoles, a species that although quite common here I had never seen (because there is no breeding habitat for them in my region). I watched them for less than a minute as they flied away (and what a weird and charismatic flight they have!) towards the sea, probably trying to reach their breeding grounds in Northern Morocco or Europe.
 
I've started this a bit late it seems so I'm just going to start with last week.
Mammals:
1) Bison (Bison bison bison)
2) Chanel Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis)
3) Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
4) California Ground Squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi)
5) Long beaked common Dolphin (Delphinus capensis)
6) Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
7) Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Birds:
1) American Coot (Fulica Americana)
2) Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
3) Long-Billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
4) Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
5) Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
6) Raven (Corvus corax)
7) American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
8) California Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus)
9) Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Herps:
1) Southern Aligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata webbii)
2) Side Blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana)
Fish:
1) Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus)
2) Halfmoon (Medialuna californiensis)
3) Opaleye (Girella nigricans)
4) Senoritas (Oxyjulis californica)
5) Blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis)
6) Kelp bass (Paralaax clathratus)
7 Mammals, 9 birds, 2 herps, 6 fish
 
Birds
33. Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans
34. Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata
35. Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae
-
36. Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus
-
37. Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha
38. Grey-headed Swamphen Porphyrio poliocephalus
39. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
40. Greater Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
41. Little Egret Egretta garzetta
42. White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
43. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis

Mammals
4. Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata

Reptiles
3. Checkered Keelback Fowlea piscator

Junklekitteb said:
5) Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula eupatria
Click to expand...
Should be Psittacula krameri.
Junklekitteb said:
8) Indian Jungle Crow Corvus culminatus
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This split doesn’t seem that well accepted, so I will continue treating it as Large-billed Crow, Corvus macrorhynchus.
Junklekitteb said:
12. Southern Coucal Centropus parroti
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Even less accepted than Corvus culminatus, so I will treat it as Greater Coucal, Centropus sinensis.
Junklekitteb said:
14) Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
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For all practical purposes it is indistinguishable from Ashy Drongo, Dicrurus leucophaeus, so I will remove it from my list.
Junklekitteb said:
29. Cinerous atit Parus cinereus
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This was pointed out to me by someone else, but I am unsure wether the bird I saw was the one they were pointing to. I didn’t have time to ID the second bird before it flew away, so I can not count either on my list.
Junklekitteb said:
2) Mysore Round-eyed Gecko Cnemaspis mysoriensis
Click to expand...
Turns out there is a second species of Cnemaspis, C. bangara in Karnataka, and I don’t know how to distinguish them. I will not count this species.
 
The lure of Nottinghamshire's first recorded Two-barred Crossbill since 1875 (!) hanging out half an hour up the road in Sherwood Forest proved too powerful to resist this morning, particularly as it was hanging out with a flock of our local resident species, which I hadn't yet made a real effort for this year. First vertebrate lifer of 2021 safely on the board!

Birds:
104. Common Crossbill - Loxia curvirostra
105. Two-barred Crossbill - Loxia leucoptera

:)
 
d1am0ndback said:
Tyto alba
Special note, I messed my numbering up somehow last time so the inconsistency between my last post and this one with the birds is due to me correcting this. I have done a number of miscellaneous things that have gotten me new year birds, especially as spring migration has begun to pick up in intensity. The highlights are a vagrant Eurasian Wigeon in Waco, Texas, my lifer Black Rail (heard only) in Galveston, Texas, my lifer McCall's subspecies of Eastern Screech Owl from South Texas, a variety of early migrants found locally including my lifer Eastern Whip-poor-will, Whooping Cranes, a Barn Owl, and my lifer Lesser Prairie Chickens for a weekend trip out to Lubbock, Texas.

Birds:

230. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
231. Eurasian Wigeon - Mareca penelope
232. Wood Duck - Aix sponsa
233. Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
234. Northern Parula - Setophaga americana
235. Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
236. Yellow-throated Warbler - Setophaga dominica
237. American Golden-Plover - Pluvialis dominica
238. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - Tyrannus forficatus
239. Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia
240. Fish Crow - Corvus ossifragus
241. Boat-tailed Grackle - Quiscalus major
242. Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus
243. Purple Gallinule - Porphyrio martinica
244. Egyptian Goose - Alopochen aegyptiaca
245. Pyrrhuloxia - Cardinalis sinuatus
246. Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Stelgidopteryx serripennis
247. Wild Turkey - Meleagris gallopavo
248. Nashville Warbler - Leiothlypis ruficapilla
249. Louisiana Waterthrush - Parkesia motacilla
250. Hooded Oriole - Icterus cucullatus
251. Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor
252. Verdin - Auriparus flaviceps
253. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
254. Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris
255. (McCall's) Eastern Screech-Owl - Megascops asio
256. Whooping Crane - Grus americana
257. Hooded Warbler - Setophaga citrina
258. Western Sandpiper - Calidris mauri
259. Baird's Sandpiper - Calidris bairdii
260. Swainson's Hawk - Buteo swainsoni
261. Barn Owl- Tyto alba
262. Chihuahuan Raven - Corvus cryptoleucus
263. Lesser Prairie Chicken- Tympanuchus pallidicinctus
264. Broad-winged Hawk - Buteo platypterus
265. Greater Roadrunner - Geococcyx californianus
266. Eastern Whip-poor-will - Antrostomus vociferus
267. Chimney Swift - Chaetura pelagica
268. Chuck-will's-widow - Antrostomus carolinensis
269. Upland Sandpiper - Bartramia longicauda

Heard only:
- Red-breasted Nuthatch- Sitta canadensis
- Brown-headed Nuthatch- Sitta pusilla
- Black Rail - Laterallus jamaicensis
- Audubon's Oriole - Icterus graduacauda
- Green Kingfisher - Chloroceryle americana

I have also spent some time searching for reptiles and amphibians and have found a number of new species for the year. Highlights include Small-mouthed Salamander, American Alligator, Ruthven's Whipsnake, Slowinski's Cornsnake, and Eastern Hognose.

Herptiles:

6. American Bullfrog- Lithobates catesbeianus
7. Southern Leopard Frog- Lithobates sphenocephalus
8. Small-mouthed Salamander- Ambystoma texanum
9. Blanchard’s Cricket Frog- Acris blanchardi
10. American Alligator- Alligator mississippiensis
11. Texas Spiny Lizard- Sceloporus olivaceus
12. Texas Spotted Whiptail- Cnemidophorus gularis
13. Ruthven’s Whipsnake- Masticophis schotti ruthveni
14. Western Ribbonsnake- Thamnophis proximus
15. Slowinski’s Cornsnake- Pantherophis slowinskii
16. Texas Ratsnake- Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri
17. Little Brown Skink- Scincella lateralis
18. Eastern Hognose- Heterodon platirhinos
19. Mississippi Map Turtle- Graptemys pseudogeographica kohni
20. Common Snapping Turtle- Chelydra serpentina
21. Anaxyrus Toad sp. (Either Fowler’s or Woodhouse’s, waiting on identification, will update when identified or will be replaced by any more definitive finds of either species in future)

Heard Only:
- Cajun Chorus Frog- Pseudacris fouquettei
- Gulf Coast Toad- Incilius valliceps
- Rio Grande Chorus Frog- Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides

Almost all of my mammals have been very incidental, and thus most of these have been encountered randomly on the side of the road or incidentally while birding. I got very lucky with a few of these, such as the American Badger, Gray Fox, and Attwater's Pocket Gopher.

Mammals:
16. Eastern Gray Squirrel- Sciurus carolinensis
17. Deer Mouse- Peromyscus maniculatus
18. Attwater’s Pocket Gopher- Geomys attwateri
19. Desert Cottontail- Sylvilagus audubonii
20. Black-tailed Jackrabbit- Lepus californicus
21. Mule Deer- Odocoileus hemionus
22. American Badger- Taxidea taxus
23. Black-tailed Prairie Dog- Cynomys ludovicianus
24. Gray Fox- Urocyon cinereoargenteus
25. Nine-banded Armadillo- Dasypus novemcinctus
26. Mexican Free-tailed Bat- Tadarida brasiliensis
Click to expand...

The past week or so I have undergone a number of random adventures into East Texas and along the coast as spring migration has continued to gain momentum. Bird-wise, highlights include a vagrant Red-throated Loon I stumbled upon, several East Texas/Southeastern US specialties such as Swainson's Warbler, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and Brown-headed Nuthatch (Seen this time), several state birds for myself including Prairie Warbler, my lifer Wood Thrush, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Sooty Tern, and Swallow-tailed Kites.

Birds:

270. Red-throated Loon - Gavia stellata
271. Green Heron - Butorides virescens
272. Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea
273. Great Crested Flycatcher - Myiarchus crinitus
274. Swainson's Warbler - Limnothlypis swainsonii
275. Summer Tanager - Piranga rubra
276. Prairie Warbler - Setophaga discolor
277. Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus
278. Warbling Vireo - Vireo gilvus
279. Red-cockaded Woodpecker - Dryobates borealis
280. Brown-headed Nuthatch - Sitta pusilla
281. Sandwich Tern - Thalasseus sandvicensis
282. Franklin's Gull - Leucophaeus pipixcan
283. Least Tern - Sternula antillarum
284. Bronzed Cowbird - Molothrus aeneus
285. Brown-crested Flycatcher - Myiarchus tyrannulus
286. Clay-colored Sparrow - Spizella pallida
287. Gull-billed Tern - Gelochelidon nilotica
288. Aplomado Falcon - Falco femoralis
289. Marbled Godwit - Limosa fedoa
290. Painted Bunting - Passerina ciris
291. Bullock's Oriole - Icterus bullockii
292. Bank Swallow - Riparia riparia
293. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla
294. Orchard Oriole - Icterus spurius
295. Western Kingbird - Tyrannus verticalis
296. Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
297. Northern Waterthrush - Parkesia noveboracensis
298. Sooty Tern - Onychoprion fuscatus
299. Piping Plover - Charadrius melodus
300. Snowy Plover - Charadrius nivosus
301. Swallow-tailed Kite - Elanoides forficatus


Heard Only:
- Red-breasted Nuthatch- Sitta canadensis
- Black Rail - Laterallus jamaicensis
- Audubon's Oriole - Icterus graduacauda
- Green Kingfisher - Chloroceryle americana
- Yellow-throated Warbler - Setophaga dominica
- Wood Thrush - Hylocichla mustelina
- Tennessee Warbler - Leiothlypis peregrina
- Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis

Reptile and amphibian wise I was able to obtain several lifers that happened to be where I was birding incidientally. Unfortunately for the Rough Green Snake, it was soon to become food for nesting Swallow-tailed Kites.

Herptiles:

22. Southern Banded Watersnake- Nerodia fasciata
23. Rio Grande Chorus Frog- Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides
24. Rio Grande Leopard Frog- Lithobates berlandieri
25. Ornate Box Turtle- Terrapene ornata
26. Western Diamondback Rattlesnake- Crotalus atrox
27. Rough Green Snake- Opheodrys aestivus

Mammal wise I encountered the first Swamp Rabbit that I have ever seen in Texas.

Mammals:

27. Swamp Rabbit- Sylvilagus aquaticus



 
birdsandbats said:
Birds
208. Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
209. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius
210. Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
211. Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus

Fish
3. Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens
Click to expand...
Birds
212. Whooping Crane Grus americana
213. Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
214. Dunlin Calidris alpina
215. Purple Martin Progne subis
216. Bonaparte's Gull Chroicocephalus philadelphia
 
A good day yesterday
Mammals
5 Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus
Birds
89 Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti
90 Tawny Owl Strix aluco
91 Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus
Invertebrates
Amend 23 to Small White Pieris rapae
24 Dark-edged Bee-fly Bombylius major
25 Whirligig Beetle Gyrinus substriatus
 
Dannelboyz said:
Haven't updated this in a while!

BIRDS
288 - Little Bronze Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx minutillus)
289 - Green Oriole (Oriolus flavocinctus)
290 - Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus argus)
291 - Varied Sittella (Daphoenositta chrysoptera)
292 - Red-chested Buttonquail (Turnix pyrrhothorax)
293 - Little Buttonquail (Turnix velox)
294 - Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)
295 - Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi)
296 - Pictorella Mannikin (Heteromunia pectoralis)
297 - Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)
298 - Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)
299 - White-quilled Rock Pigeon (Petrophassa albipennis)
300 - Plumed Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)
301 - Red-backed Buttonquail (Turnix maculosus)
302 - Flock Bronzewing (Phaps histrionica)
303 - Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis)
304 - Sandstone Shrikethrush (Colluricincla woodwardi)
305 - Grey-fronted Honeyeater (Ptilotula plumula)
306 - Green Pygmy Goose (Nettapus pulchellus)
307 - Wandering Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna arcuata)
308 - Comb-crested Jacana (Irediparra gallinacea)

MAMMALS
22 - Feral Cat (Felis catus)*
23 - Short-eared Rock Wallaby (Petrogale brachyotis)
24 - Ningbing False Antechinus (Pseudantechinus ningbing)

REPTILES
23 - Robust Ctenotus (Ctenotus robustus)
24 - Gracile Velvet Gecko (Oedura gracilis)

AMPHIBIANS
13 - Striped Rocket Frog (Litoria nasuta)
14 - Copland's Rock Frog (Litoria coplandi)
15 - Magnificent Tree Frog (Litoria splendida)
16 - Rockhole Frog (Litoria meiriana)

FISH
8 - Kimberley Archerfish (Toxotes kimberleyensis)
9 - Western Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia australis)
10 - Black Bream (Hephaestus jenkinsi)
11 - Flathead Goby (Glossogobius giuris)
12 - Sevenspot Archerfish (Toxotes chatareus)
13 - Freshwater Longtom (Strongylura krefftii)

(+3 bird, +1 mammal, +4 amphibian heard-onlies)
Click to expand...
That’s some good BQs.

How/when/where was the Ningbing Falsie? And did you get a picture?
 
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