Life Sciences Commons^™

First Record Of White Stork In A Birdstrike In South Africa Above 3,300 M Agl, Desire Dalton, Marli De Bruyn, Monica Mwale, Kim Labuschagne, Melissa Hofmann, Albert Froneman, Hanneline A. Smit-Robinson, Antoinette Kotze

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Birdstrikes to aircrafts are increasing on an annual basis and pose significant aviation safety risks. Identification of the birds involved is key to developing mitigation strategies. Often the only information available to make identifications are feather and/or tissue samples. Relying on feathers alone to identify the bird species requires special expertise and access to museum collections for specimen comparisons. In 2017, feathers and tissue samples were recovered from the engine cowling of an airplane that had just landed at the Oliver Reginald (O. R.) Tambo international airport in South Africa after striking a bird at 3,353 m. To confirm the …