The bird was found on a remote island
in the Philippines, and it faces extinction like most flightless
birds because of human activity. About the size of a crow,
it was found on the island of Calayan in the northern Philippines
about 40 miles off the coast.
BirdLife International, a conservation group, said the
proposed name for the bird is the Calayan rail.
"The Calayan rail is a
relative of the internationally familiar moorhen, with bright red
beak and legs contrasting sharply with its dark plumage,"
said Birdlife in a recent statement. "But unlike
its familiar relative, the Calayan rail is flightless, or nearly
so, and found only on the small island after which it is
named."
Although one to two new bird species are discovered every year,
this one is unique due to the rail's flightless nature and
unexplored location. Dr. Richard Thomas of BirdLife
told Reuters, "This is exceptional because it is flightless
and no ornithologist had explored the island since 1903."
The most famous flightless bird in history, the dodo, was wiped
out by humans who found them to be easy prey because of their
naive behavior. Scientists hope not to repeat this mistake.
Most of the 22 species of rail which have become extinct since
1600 were flightless, and eighteen of the 20 living species of
flightless rail are considered to be threatened.
Scientists To Search For Lake Monsters
by Jonathan
Drake
S: The Manila Times
(8-23-04)
They'll be launching an expedition this month - scientists from
China in search of lake monsters in northwest China’s Xinjiang
region.
Crazy?
Unbeknownst to many, rumors and tales of mysterious monsters have
been around for hundreds of years, specifically in Xinjiang's
Altay Prefacture, in Lake Kanasi. The legend grew as horses,
cattle and sheep went missing near the lake area every year.
Explorations to the lake have been made before, most notably in
1987, which resulted in the discovery of a school of some 30 to 40
big fish, each three to four meters long. They concluded
that the fish, a species of Taimen, a very large salmonid that
grows to huge proportions, were the “monsters” making mischief
in the lake.
Researches, however, still aren't convinced whether such fish
could devour large animals, and will try to find the largest
specimen they can find to appease their doubts.
Scheduled to last 10 days, the exploration will be made by a
Chinese scientific exploration team, the underwater photography
team of the Chinese Underwater Association and the environmental
and tourism administrative bureau of Kanasi.
Whether there truly are lake monsters or not, they've helped bring
tourism to the Kanasi area with some 183,000 visitors from home
and abroad since August 1st. The area has also earned 140
million yuan ($16.9 million) from tourism.
Bird Of A Strange Feather
by
Jonathan Robison
S: SkyNews (4-21-04)
"Nobody's ever seen
anything like him before... there's just total disbelief."
So were the words of Whipper the budgie's owner, Julie Hayward,
who has played host to a steady stream of curious New Zealand
neighbors wanting to see the curious bird.
"He's so cute how he's got really fluffy, curly bits,"
was one young girl's reaction.
Not only does Whipper have extraordinary plumage and stunted
wings, but also a peculiar chirp.
"He doesn't make the same sound as a budgie. In fact he doesn't
make the same sound as anything really," said Mrs. Hayward.
Whipper, unfortunately, is yet another example of a degenerative
mutation. Not only can't he fly, but his mother tried to get
rid of him as a youngster.
"She threw him out twice, so the second time it was too risky
to leave him in there," said Hayward.
Regardless, Whipper has become a celebrity.
Said family friend Gillian McFarlane: "He is just
glorious. There was something right from the start that he
was just going to turn into a little megastar."
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