Word: birde
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...elephants, and the gunshots are in fact firecrackers used to scare them away. But what you mostly hear at this stunning new eco-resort in Sri Lanka's dry zone is silence, punctuated only by the calling of kingfishers and the cooing of spotted doves. There are 426 bird species in Sri Lanka, and many of them can be seen here, in this extraordinary nature reserve that also doubles as a superchic hotel...
...crocodile?" said the waiter over breakfast. "Can you see the kingfisher?" His notepad, it turned out, held not only my order for kurrukan roti and chicken curry, but also page upon page of bird species. There's a resident naturalist, too, who monitors the growing numbers of birds, fish and animals. "We're hoping to attract fishing cats," he confided eagerly, "and more black bitterns and rusty-spotted cats...
...matter outside Japan. In most Western countries Tamiflu, which can speed up recovery from the flu by a day or so at most, has barely been used. It's only been in prescription drug-happy Japan, where the government effectively made Tamiflu free, that the drug became popular before bird flu made it a household word. But because Tamiflu has been one of the few drugs to show effectiveness against H5N1 avian flu, it has become the key pharmacological component in international pandemic preparation plans. If a pandemic were to strike tomorrow, tens of millions of people could soon...
...From there, the tour plunges straight into the heart of the old city, where the centuries-old Shor bazaar has changed little from the days when it was thronged with Silk Road traders. In the narrow, twisting alleyways of the bird market, drab mud-brick shops burst with the vibrant plumage of parakeets and fighting quails, while the air is filled with the bright chatter of songbirds, the favored pets of Kabul residents. Handcrafted bamboo and wire cages, festooned with glass beads, dangle from every doorway, and the fragrance of cardamom-laced green tea beckons passersby into tiny chai shops...
...Blackwater and other security contractors are a ubiquitous presence in Iraq. The skies buzz with their single-striped Little Bird helicopters. When I was a correspondent in Baghdad in 2004, Blackwater convoys were notorious for bringing a Wild West mentality to the streets of Baghdad. They were easily identifiable--speeding white suvs with black-tinted windows and automatic weapons pointed at you. Hired guns are even more in evidence at the checkpoints in Baghdad's Green Zone, although there is a hierarchy as to who guards what. The outer gates of compounds are typically guarded by third-country nationals, experienced...