Once-injured bird inspires others. Plus, take minute-long bursts of exercise to live longer
| | Thursday, January 5, 2023 | | | | |
 | PHOTOGRAPHS BY JASPER DOEST
| | Once in rough shape, Bob now enjoys breakfasts of caviar, dips in his own saltwater pool, and gets biweekly foot massages on the beach. Bob is a bit of a star these days, teaching kids and inspiring people worldwide after recovering from slamming into a hotel window.
Oh, about that: Bob (pictured above) is a flamingo.
He’s at the center of one of the most beloved Nat Geo stories in recent years, which we’re bringing back for today’s National Bird Day.
Read the full story here.
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| | Winged educator: Bob often appears before schoolchildren. At this school on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao, an eight-year-old listens to Bob’s heartbeat as he is held by veterinarian Odette Doest. “When Bob starts flapping his wings,” says Doest, cousin of photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Jasper Doest, “children start to flap their arms, and so do grown-ups.” She tells the kids about the plastic pollution and discarded fishing gear that harm the flamingos. Read more. | | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLIE HAMILTON JAMES | | Snap! This southern ground hornbill opens and closes his beak to eat a locust in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. Nat Geo Explorer Charlie Hamilton James captured the moment as part of our story on the challenge to birds and other animals in the Serengeti. The rise in endangered bird species prompted the Avian Welfare Coalition to create National Bird Day to raise public awareness and to promote action to help. The day is celebrated every January 5 in the U.S.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY JAKE NAUGHTON | | Grapes to the rescue: What might save the booming wine industry in Baja California from the ongoing 20-year “megadrought”? Grapes that Spanish missionaries lugged across the Atlantic 500 years ago. With little to no irrigation, hardy misión grapes (a ripe bunch, above) produce triple or more grapes than other popular varieties. And the wine? Surprisingly delicious—one vintage was light bodied, gently fruity, and slightly herbal.
Related: A hot pepper surviving Italy's extreme heat waves
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE | | | Who knew pigeons were beautiful? We found a few of the most striking of more than 300 varieties of the bird often derided as “rats with wings.” Several species are vulnerable to extinction, including the Scheepmaker’s crowned pigeon (photographed above by Nat Geo Explorer Joel Sartore). “It’s past time the lowly pigeon gets its coo,” writes Jason Bittel. Do you agree? Let us know. | | | |
Today’s soundtrack: Flamingo, Duke Ellington
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