Alexander Alvarez of Atmore, Alabama, has pled guilty to “killing migratory birds and selling the feathers on the black market” in a killing spree that dates back to 2006.  In addition to numerous Anhingas he was also found to have feathers from “four red-shouldered hawks, two Cooper’s hawks, two pileated woodpeckers, one red-tailed hawk, on rough-legged hawk, one broad-winged hawk, one golden eagle, one osprey, one sharp-shinned hawk, one Mississippi kite, one peregrine falcon, one American kestrel, and another bird that was identified as either a Gila woodpecker or red-bellied woodpecker.”

He faces up to seven-and-a-half years in prison and fines totaling more than $500,000.  It’s nice to see laws against killing birds and selling their feathers enforced.

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.