About 4,400 people live in the Unalaska island area, especially during the fishing season, where hundreds of vultures feed and nest, from telephone poles to the top of traffic lights. During the season when vultures nest, people who get too close to them will be attacked and taken to the hospital with a few stitches on their heads. The vultures of the ships entering the harbor are also spared, and dozens of vultures stand on the sails of the ships, like terrifying Christmas ornaments. PHOTO: COREY ARNOLD
White plastic bags fluttered over the treetops of the Italian Alps, which piqued the interest of Fabrizio Sergio. Many birds decorate their nests to attract mates, but black kites already have mates when they nest. "What do they want to show off," said Sergio, who works for Spain's National Research Council. The black kites are constantly collecting white plastic sheets and putting them in their nests, while turning a blind eye to the transparent and black plastic sheets, because the two plastic sheets contrast too much with the colors in nature. PHOTOGRAPHED BY RICHARD BARNES AT WESTERN FOUNDATION OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY
The birds were often shot or fell into traps to death, some died when smuggled across the border in cages, and some were made of ornaments or amulets after being killed. Trell deals with about 100 crimes against birds a year, and he has to be objective in the process, but sometimes he can't control his emotions. Pictured: Hummingbirds may have been killed by slingshots and then sold to young couples as lucky amulets in some markets. PHOTO: TOM FOWLKS
Forensic ornithologist PepperTrell summed up his work this way. This profession is very rare, and he is one of only two people in the United States. The job itself is terrible. First, Terrell had to pick and choose from bags of bones and feathers, or even entire corpses, sent to him from the wild by wildlife law enforcement agencies. Next, he's going to analyze. PHOTO: TOM FOWLKS
When the juveniles of the great cuckoo emerge from their shells, they crowd out other eggs or young birds in the nest in order to monopolize all the space and food. The juvenile cuckoo eats about the same amount as all the young birds in the nest combined, and is larger than other young birds, and it will eat all the food brought back by its adoptive parents. In the figure, it is the reed warbler that acts as the adoptive parent, which is a common host. PHOTO: FRANKA SLOTHOUBER
It was not until the time of extinction that the Caracalla eagle of Guadalupe became precious. In 1876, the Caracalla eagles on the Mexican island were so numerous that they were shot and poisoned on a large scale as pest birds. By the end of the 19th century, this bird of prey, endemic to the area, had become extremely rare and a favorite of collectors. PHOTO: ANDY DIAZ HOPE. ILLUSTRATION BY PETER SCHOUTEN FROM A GAP IN NATURE: DISCOVERING THE WORLD'S EXTINCT ANIMALS BY TIM FLANNERY PRODUCTS THE APPROPRIATE THEME.
The appearance of bird eggs is amazing, and scientists have long wanted to figure out why. To unravel the mystery of the shape of bird eggs, Princeton University evolutionary biologist Mary Caswell Stodard and colleagues studied nearly 50,000 eggs from more than 1,400 birds, which they classified based on their asymmetry and ovality, and found that the more pointed, or oval, the shape of the egg, the stronger its parents were likely to be. PHOTO: FRANS LANTING ILLUSTRATIONS: DAISY CHUNG,NGM STAFF
Birds were not the first species to evolve head ornaments, and both dinosaurs and more distant relatives, Pterosaurs, had headdresses. But today's birds exhibit the most diverse crown feathers and helmets, which they use to attract the opposite sex and threaten their opponents. The eagle-headed parrot (Deroptyus accipitrinus) is taken at: Houston Zoo Photo: Joel Saltoret
The difference between birds is part of their beauty and value. They are always present around us, but never one of us, but another group of beings that have evolved to dominate the world. Goura cristata at the Henry Dolly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska Photo by Joel Saltore
Today, even though our cats, windows, and pesticides kill billions of birds each year, and even though some populations — especially those living on islands — have disappeared permanently, the world of birds is alive and well. In every corner of the planet, from walnut shells to grassy nests, chicks are still pecking at eggshells and welcoming new life. The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is taken at: Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Photo: Joel Saltore