A shot cuckoo was yesterday found flattened under a rock in Miżieb, according to anti-hunting activists, who pointed out it was the fourth bird of this species discovered dead since the hunting season began.

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), which found the protected cuckoo, said it was freshly dead and its observers handed it over to the Administrative Law Enforcement unit.

In another incident yesterday, a member of the public came across an injured yellow-legged gull with wing injuries typical of gunshot, CABS said.

The previous day, its team found “a freshly deceased cuckoo with typical shotgun injuries” hidden in a bush in the same area.

They also handed the police video footage of a hunter caught shooting at Miżieb during the afternoon curfew on Saturday. They said he fired four shots in the woodland. The footage clearly showed the hunters’ face, CABS said, adding it was passed on to the police for investigation.

In a separate incident, CABS monitors witnessed a hunter trying to shoot down a protected kestrel in Safi.

CABS said the hunter fired two shots at the falcon within less than 100 metres of the airport area. It is illegal to shoot so close to the airport perimeter. The hunter was not found.

Meanwhile, the hunting federation yesterday claimed Birdlife may have broken the law last week when it “handled an injured protected bird”. FKNK said Birdlife was illegally in possession of a protected bird and urged the organisation to act in a “correct” manner if it witnessed an illegality so the police could investigate immediately.