French Riviera the weather between various locations. Strong winds such as the Mistral, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes département are sheltered by the Alps. The winds are usually gentle, from the sea to the land, though sometimes the mistral blows strongly from the northwest, or, turned by the mountains, from the east. In 1956 a mistral from the northwest reached at Nice Airport. Sometimes, in summer, the sirocco brings high temperatures and reddish desert sand from the Sahara. (See Winds of Provence.) Rain can be
Sirocco (parrot) Sirocco (parrot) Sirocco (hatched 23 March 1997) is a kakapo, a large nocturnal parrot, and one of the few remaining kakapo in the world. He achieved individual fame following an incident on the BBC television series "Last Chance to See" in which he attempted to mate with zoologist Mark Carwardine. Subsequent featuring of the incident on television channels around the world and on YouTube resulted in Sirocco becoming internationally known. In his home country of New Zealand, Sirocco has attracted thousands of people during 'personal' appearances, and in January 2010 was given the title of Official Spokesbird for Conservation by