The Thoughts of an Ornithologist

William Princeton


(1) I’ve spotted a young female Peregrine Falcon, but cannot read the two-digit code on her vid band. Because the Peregrine travel up to 15,000 miles each year, these colored leg bands are essential to identifying and tracking the birds. This bird has fantastic markings—through my binoculars, I can clearly make out the black mustache mark common to this species. I calculate the bird’s speed to be twenty-five miles per hour—she merely coasts while monitoring the mountainside for a tasty meal. Once the predator has focused in on her prey, she dramatically descends into that spectacular hunting stoop. At this moment, she’s the fastest animal on the planet—scientists have clocked Peregrines at speeds of 200 miles per hour during this hunting dive. I’m on cloud nine as I silently observe the bird’s victory.


(2) As a child, I was obsessed with the study of birds, known as ornithology. I spent eve

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Hello. This question is incomplete. The full question is:

(1) I’ve spotted a young female Peregrine Falcon, but cannot read the two-digit code on her vid band. Because the Peregrine travel up to 15,000 miles each year, these colored leg bands are essential to identifying and tracking the birds. This bird has fantastic markings—through my binoculars, I can clearly make out the black mustache mark common to this species. I calculate the bird’s speed to be twenty-five miles per hour—she merely coasts while monitoring the mountainside for a tasty meal. Once the predator has focused in on her prey, she dramatically descends into that spectacular hunting stoop. At this moment, she’s the fastest animal on the planet—scientists have clocked Peregrines at speeds of 200 miles per hour during this hunting dive. I’m on cloud nine as I silently observe the bird’s victory.

(2) As a child, I was obsessed with the study of birds, known as ornithology. I spent every opportunity observing the birds that lived around my family’s home. Ornithology drew me in like a moth to a flame. After completing high school, I was accepted at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology where I became involved in species conservation. I spent several years color banding a wide variety of birds in California with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The banding systems allowed us to study the birds’ annual survivorship, fidelity to territory and mate, and migratory status. Years later, an acquaintance of mine from Cornell offered me a position on a team that works for the conservation of Peregrine Falcons. I’ve been fascinated by these birds ever since.

(3) The Peregrine population crashed between 1950 and 1970 due to pesticides like DDT. The future of these magnificent  birds remained uncertain for nearly two decades. Thanks to the diligent work of conservationists like Tom Cade, officials  removed the Peregrine from the endangered species list in 1999.

(4) Of course, these birds still aren’t entirely self-sufficient. The major concern is that the falcons tend to nest in urban areas  because of a phenomenon called “imprinting.” Falcons often reside in habitats similar to their natal nests, or the nests  where they were born. For birds bred in captivity, the site of their release is often imprinted in their brains. Early recovery  efforts used skyscrapers in urban areas as release sites for the Peregrine, causing the birds to return to large cities later in  life.

This passage is BEST described as

A) biography. C) persuasive essay.

B) journal entry. D) newspaper article.

Answer:

D) newspaper article.

Explanation:

According to the reading of the text above, we can conclude that this text is a newspaper article. This is because this text aims to expose and explain a certain subject, which in this case, are the thoughts about the study of birds of a specific species. This article mixes the concepts, references and ideas of this study with what motivated the author of the text to be interested in the study of birds and how it impacts the way he sees birds. The article does not seek to influence anyone, but aims to expose facts and ideas that surround the author's mind on the subject.

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