A scientific approach has re-identified huge birds etched into the desert plains of southern Peru around 2,000 years ago. The birds appear to be exotic to the region, and further studies could help explain their significance. The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The lines and geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa are located some 400 kilometers south of Lima, Peru, and comprise a World Heritage Site covering an area of about 450 square kilometers. They were carved into the ground between 400 B.C.E and 1000 C.E. by pre-Inca people, and include lines, geometric designs, and animal and plant drawings. Most of these etchings are so large that they are best seen in aerial photographs. Identifying what they represent is an essential first step toward unraveling the mystery of why they were drawn in the first place. Masaki Eda of the Hokkaido University Museum, Takeshi Yamasaki of Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, and Masato Sakai of Yamagata University in Japan