t seemed wrong to have my fingers locked around the delicate, downy throat of a black-faced antthrush no bigger than a starling, but this was the approved handling method. In less than seven minutes (the approved handling time), biologist Andreina Mendez and technical assistant Noe Huaracca had weighed and measured the 1.7oz bird, looked for signs of moulting to determine its age (about a year old) and tagged its leg for future identification. It was then my job to release it back into its home in the wild.

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