Field Agent Lenin Roman illustrated this image of the Sightless Swamp Vulture.

The Sightless Swamp Bird was first documented by 18th-century European explorers in the Cranberry Glades of Pocahontas, West Virginia. These explorers were both fascinated and repelled by the bird's unusual appearance and strong, unpleasant odor. Initially believed to be valuable for their easily obtainable meat, feathers, and skin, these birds were captured, handled, and studied en masse. However, the human interaction had devastating effects on their population, as it disrupted their scent-based social structures.

Today, the Proboscis Bird is a rare and seldom-seen species, largely known only to cryptozoologists and bird enthusiasts. Nearly extinct in the wild, they are conservation dependent.

They Came at Night

Loud, heavy boots trekked down the mountainside, the ground cragged and gritty with sandstone. Gear clanged and rang, bouncing down into the valley. Deer and rabbits fled while squirrels and birds watched from their lofty perches. A turkey vulture followed above.

Crossing over this chain was no easy feat; here, the Allegheny Mountains peak at 3,400…