A Bird That Cannot See What Will Kill It
The Great Indian Bustard, Ardeotis nigriceps, carries up to 15 kilograms on a frame built for open grassland, not evasive flight. Its eyes sit on the sides of its head, giving it a wide field of vision for ground-level predators but almost no forward binocular vision. A power line strung at 30 to 50 metres does not register as a threat until the bird is already inside it. Collision, not electrocution, is the primary cause of death. The impact is usually fatal.
