A songbird was found on a flight between Taiwan and Los Angeles and authorities believed it escaped from the custody of someone trying to smuggle it. The bird was not identified to species, which is kind of frustrating. This serves as a reminder that there are always jerks out there willing to break the law to fulfill demand from other jerks who don’t understand that wild birds should be left in the wild.
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.
It might have been one of those bee-eaters the Israelis sent to spy on Turkey last week.
More likely a bird from the North Koreans with an implanted computer virus to infiltrate the Pentagon and help Iran in its cyber war against the US.