Scientists were hoping early next year to reintroduce five other birds into the area which have been raised in captivity.

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But when the birds were four or five days old, the less feathered started to show their deficiencies.

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The exceptions, such as hoofed animals and birds have all descended from five-fingered ancestors.

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Prof Barnosky and colleagues compared the rates of known species extinctions in mammals, birds and amphibians during the last five centuries with those estimated from the fossil record during the previous Big Five die-outs of the geological past.

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Mr Aldous argued that the birds' behaviour had worsened in the last five to six years.

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She described an incident where a keeper of show pigeons had 50 of his birds, including two rare birds imported from Germany, shot by airguns over the past five years.

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The skipper of my beloved hometown Baltimore Orioles, he guided the Birds over 17 years to six American League East titles, five 100-win seasons, four pennants and the 1970 world championship.

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The reduced oxygen system will cover the archive storage areas on levels five and six, where rare items, such as Audubon's Birds of America and a Shakespeare First Folio, will be kept.

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But venture five miles south of Bodega Bay on Hwy 1 to the tiny town of Bodega and you will find two Birds icons: the schoolhouse and the church along Bodega Lane.

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