Sony Dong was arrested in March for trying to smuggle songbirds into the United States. He got caught when a Los Angeles International Airport inspector noticed feathers peeking out from the bottom of his pants and bird poop on his shiny black shoes. More than a dozen birds were strapped to his legs with buttoned cloth wrappings.

Exotic songbirds from Asia can earn high prices in the United States. The rescued birds might end up in a zoo.

Photograph by AP/Department of Justice

Read more about the bird smuggling case on National Geographic News.

Watch a video of macaws soaring above the rain forest.
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