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Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. Coyotes took carrion from young Condors and then killed the weakest ones. (pp.

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Contemplating California Condors

10,000 Birds

The newest bird on the brink to capture her fertile imagination is the California Condor, on which she graciously shares her research and ruminations: Sometimes as a writer you recognize there’s been something overlooked in your midst—something quietly abiding. Their hallmark: They don’t kill. And they continue to ingest lead.

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What is the National Bird of Columbia?

10,000 Birds

They get a bad rap due to their dependence on carrion to survive, but I look at it a different way: these species do not have to kill in order to thrive! Columbia has chosen one of the world’s most massive flying species as its national bird: the Andean Condor. Most humans cannot say that.

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I and the Bird: What is a Vulture?

10,000 Birds

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. The California Condor has a story well-known by anyone with an interest in birds.

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On Jeff Corwin's 100 HEARTBEATS

Animal Person

And managing means killing them, breeding them, and otherwise fiddling with their populations. It has entertaining stories, includes animals people care about because they like them (and also addresses that concept), and it describes how the numbers of various species decreased to the point of being classified as "endangered" or worse.

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When Birds Are Near: Dispatches From Contemporary Writers

10,000 Birds

She seamlessly interweaves memories of her bryologist father (he collected mosses), statistics on building-killed birds and the Audubon volunteers who collect them, details of modern taxidermist techniques seen on a visit to a Pennsylvania taxidermist, and the sight of hundreds of bird study skins at the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates.