Cattle Falcons Hunting 
10,000 Birds
DECEMBER 21, 2022
A large, bulky falcon cruising overhead could only be a Peregrine Falcon. As soon as we noticed it, a Merlin appeared from nowhere and headed directly for the Peregrine, divebombing the larger falcon. As per usual falcon procedure, it all happened much too quickly for me to get a decent photograph!
10,000 Birds
DECEMBER 30, 2021
One of this species’ many peculiarities is that it has a digestive system unique amongst birds: Hoatzins use bacterial fermentation in the front part of the gut to break down the vegetable material they consume, much as cattle and other ruminants do. Left to right: my guide Edson Moroni and the local shop keeper Daniel Luis.
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10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 26, 2019
Of course, we did, soaking in that slate blue beauty long enough to observe a successful hunt and more of its rangy, awkward flight. Our primeval quarry flashed that cold, knowing smile and flew off, daring us to track it down for better looks. The mighty Shoebill.
10,000 Birds
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Actually, despite the fact that central Asian steppes cover huge areas, Sociable Lapwings breed only around nomadic cattle herders’ settlements, which signifies that this species has evolved alongside wild ungulates, such as Blackbuck and Saiga antelopes, which kept the grass short.
10,000 Birds
SEPTEMBER 13, 2014
Not that long ago, Costa Rica had one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, rainforests were razed to make way for hot and chiggery cattle pasture, and bot flies probably became more numerous than some bird populations. Hope for a vagrant comes in the form of an Orange-breasted Falcon sighting from west-central Panama.
10,000 Birds
APRIL 13, 2015
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. Quality time was spent with a friendly Hamar family at their homestead of grass huts surrounding their cattle corral.
10,000 Birds
MAY 8, 2013
As impressive as these birds are, many species, particularly in southern Asia , have seen precipitous population declines having to do somewhat with the old habitat issues that plague animals around the world , but more to do with the widespread use of anti-inflammatory drugs on cattle, who then die and are eaten by vultures who are poisoned.
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