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The return of the Old Man

10,000 Birds

Such an intimate encounter with one of the world’s rarest birds was a memorable experience. Shooting remains a major threat to this population, for the Italians are still passionately keen on hunting. The individual I am pictured holding ( above ) was a friendly bird that (rather like a dog) seemed happy to be handled.

Morocco 221
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Uganda’s Billion Dollar Bird: The Shoebill

10,000 Birds

The Shoebill serves as the symbol of the magnificent wildlife experiences Uganda offers visitors, which may seem a bit odd. Of course, we did, soaking in that slate blue beauty long enough to observe a successful hunt and more of its rangy, awkward flight. The mighty Shoebill.

Uganda 259
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Hawking for Nighthawks

10,000 Birds

Especially as we were at the time about to experience a rapidly advancing tropical storm. Scores of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks circled overhead, these vocal ducks are often hunted illegally here so it was refreshing to see so many. Striated Heron in breeding plumage – extra plumes and blue lores.

Livestock 209
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Tribes and Birds of the Lower Omo Valley by Adam Riley

10,000 Birds

Recent publicity about these remarkable tribes has resulted in tourists wanting to experience this wild land and its attractions for themselves. Heading south on a good surfaced road, we made slow progress through the herds of cattle, donkeys and goats that thronged the highway, until we finally reached the land of the Konso.

Ethiopia 239
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What to Do at High Island When the Winds are South

10,000 Birds

Smith Oaks is a migratory bird sanctuary owned and maintained by Houston Audubon, and the Rookery is a year-round bonus, full of Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Neotropical Cormorants, Anhingas, Tricolored Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons. This was the High Island Experience, I was told. It was amazing.

Houston 207
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The Domestic Turkey and the First Thanksgiving

10,000 Birds

Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. The believability of this is underscored by the fact that the Pilgrims and their guides listed among their possession numerous “fowling pieces” … for hunting wild birds. Kiva 78(1):37–60.

Turkey 201
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Africa’s endangered species

10,000 Birds

One of Africa’s truly exhilarating experiences is watching and listening to a honking flock of these massive birds as they appear out of the early morning mists over a wetland, to land nearby and start their wing-flapping and jumping displays. Habitat destruction, hunting and disturbance are further factors affecting the population.