This is example of the terrible standards of reporting on ABC, similar to the terrible standards elsewhere in the “medja”.
“Giant eagle smashes through man’s windscreen Posted February 26, 2012 11:44:21
Northern Territory police say a 72-year-old driver ended up with scratches after one of the largest eagles in the world smashed through his windscreen.
Police say the man was driving near Mataranka, south of Darwin last night when he hit the eagle, which in turn hit him in the head.
Officers say the man was taken to the police station and given band aids for his scratches.
Wedge-tailed eagles can have a wing span of up to 2.5 metres.
It is not clear whether the eagle survived the crash.”
The headline gives the impression that the eagle that smashed into the car was preternaturally large, not that it was a Wedge-tail, which is one of the largest eagles in the world.
Then the first sentence reinforces this impression, that the individual bird was one of the largest eagles in the world, not that all individuals of Aquila audax are.
The basic thing lacking in this story is a species concept. Perhaps we could ask that all journalists complete Natural History 101 before graduating.
John Leonard
On 26 February 2012 12:33,
> Hi there, I saw this on ABC Online and thought you might be interested: > > > http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-26/driver-survives-highway-collision-with-eagle/3853272 > > > > > > > *** DISCLAIMER *** > This message was sent to you using the “Email a Friend” facility on ABC > Online (http://www.abc.net.au). To make a comment about this email, > contact us: http://www.abc.net.au/contact/ Be sure to also include this > entire email message. > > > ******************************************************************************************************* > This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra > Ornithologists Group. > Please ensure that emails posted to the list are less than 100 kb in size. > When subscribing or unsubscribing, please insert the word ‘Subscribe’ or > ‘Unsubscribe’, as applicable, in the email’s subject line. > List-Post:
