10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

Local farmers view it as a threat to domesticated wildlife. It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks.

Falcons 212

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 212

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Ackerman understands how to set a scene, fill it with charismatic real-life characters, and top it off with magic–the hoot of a distant Great Gray Owl, a Burrowing Owl evading capture, an old barn sheltering young Barn Owls, a tree full of Long-eared Owls in the middle of a small town in northern Serbia. They are also hunted.

Owls 214

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 214

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2012

The quills of the “Saqu Ettair” Secretarybirds feed on small lizards, insects, rodents, birds eggs and, of course, snakes. Watching them hunt is fascinating. On several occasions I’ve seen animals that are making a beeline towards shelter double-back when the wings are spread straight into their waiting talons.

Botswana 225

Botswana Eagles Porcupines Hunting 225