(excerpt)

INTRODUCTION

You are walking through a jungle in South America.  High up in a tree you see a monkey swinging by its tail.  A shadow passes overhead.  Zap!  Before you can blink, sharp claws grab the monkey and carry it away.  you have just seen a harpy eagle getting its dinner…

It is a hot, dry day.  Your jeep is moving slowly through the African plain.  Up the road watching you is a tall, long-necked figure standing on two scaly legs.  You drive a little closer, and, whoosh, off it goes, dashing across the brown grass at forty-five miles per hour.  Quick, snap a picture!  It’s an ostrich on the run…

You have been in cold places before, but no place is as cold as this.  it’s a good thing you’re only visiting.  Who or what, you ask could live at seventy-five degrees below zero?  Then you see them, thousands of them, huddled together, each with an egg on his foot.  What are they?  Emperor penguins, spending the whole winter in a world of ice…

Harpy eagle, ostrich, emperor penguin.  What do all of these strange creatures have in common? They are birds–exotic birds.