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Enjoying a leisurely wade in the waters of the Dutch undergrowth this grey heron decided to go in search of lunch when he came across this unsuspecting black rabbit. Undeterred by its size, the grey heron, the largest bird of its kind in Europe, swooped down and gobbled the rabbit up in one mouthful, as these pictures show.

TRENTON, N.J. - Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house. Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue. But instead of a damsel in distress, officers found a caged cockatoo with a convincing call.

Male Bird At Smithsonian's National Zoo Has Special Reason To Celebrate Father's DayTwo of the four new rhea chicks at the Smithsonian's National Zoo nest in the feathers of their father. The chicks hatched on April 20 and were the first rhea chicks to hatch at the National Zoo in 30 years. Dedicated fathers, it is the male rhea who incubates the eggs and protects the chicks after they hatch. The Zoo is now home to a total of seven rheas: a male, two females, and the four new chicks. (Credit: Copyright Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo) ScienceDaily (Jun. 15, 2008)...

TOKYO - When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help. ADVERTISEMENT Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said. He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet. "I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,"...

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Forget avocado, evening primrose oil or other exotic ingredients, the latest facial to hit New York is a mask made with bird excrement. The Geisha Facial, available at Shizuka New York for $180, about $100 more than the shop's other facials, contains nightingale excrement. The Japanese powder, also known as uguisu no fun, is rich in the amino acid guanine, said to brighten and cleanse skin. In the 18th century geishas and kabuki actors used the powder to clean heavy white makeup off their faces. "I'm always trying to bring Japanese culture and tradition to...

Bird of prey found dead along road had claw sticking through its chest A hawk was found dead along a California highway with the claw of a songbird protruding from its chest. It's not clear, however, if the partially digested meal, one claw somehow managing to get back out from a terribly wrong location, had anything to do with the hawk's death. On the evening of Sunday, March 30, Julia Di Sieno of the Animal Rescue Team in California noticed the dead sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) while driving a sick night heron to the Solvang Veterinary Hospital. Sharp-shinned hawks are...

Bird flu: Indonesia's trial run By Lucy Williamson April 29, 2008 BBC News, Bali In the backstreets of a Bali village, all hell has broken loose. The Balinese rural calm has been invaded by men with megaphones and masks, there are sirens wailing down the main street, and at the centre of it all, Putu Arini sits quietly on the porch of her house, waiting for the police. Parts of Bali have looked like the set of a germ-warfare film A few hours ago, her husband was taken to the local health clinic, with bird flu-like symptoms, and now investigators...

Listen to the crowd. They were definately reacting to the gesture. I saw another video of this yesterday, but this one is convincing. He REALLY did give her the bird.

I often hear someone say, I hate those birds, they are messy, nasty, greedy, etc, funny thing, the birds with the most human traits often top the hate chart! Grackles aren't universally loved, Pelicans are, it seems, doesn't matter to me, I don't have time to act stupid. If I had to be a bird, a Grackle would be just fine! Pelicans are easier to photograph, but Grackles have more fun!

Bird flu may spread within families 11:53 08 April 2008 NewScientist.com news service Debora MacKenzie There has been another case of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 bird flu, this time in China. This does not mean, however, that the virus has evolved to spread easily among humans. But the cases reinforce fears that there could be many undiagnosed human H5N1 infections in China. On the bright side, they may also point to a cure. A salesman hospitalised in Nanjing last November with fever, diarrhoea and pneumonia was given antibiotics for suspected bacterial infection. He didn't respond, however, and just before he...

These don't live in a park. No telling what the genetic history of these birds is, but they are pretty. http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/ http://cabbagehammock.blogspot.com/

Hear the sound of a Merlin Falcon when it sings. This falcon also has killed chickens and has been called a chicken hawk but is really a falcon. This falcon is a very majestic and beautiful bird of prey.

Ducks, people and rice paddies are the primary forces driving outbreaks of avian influenza in Thailand and Vietnam, and the number of chickens is less pivotal, scientists said on Wednesday. U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization experts and others looked at three waves of H5N1 bird flu in Thailand and Vietnam in 2004 and 2005. The virus has killed 236 people in 12 countries since 2003. They used computer modeling to study how various factors were involved in the spread of the virus, including the numbers of ducks, geese and chickens, human population size, rice cultivation and local geography. Even though...

Hear the sound of a Merlin Falcon when it sings. This falcon also has killed chickens and has been called a chicken hawk but is really a falcon.

Not much time or energy today, just made a fast run to the store for cat food, with part of the trip running through the county arboretum, LOL. It is looking good! On the way home I stopped at a little wild pond, the neighborhood Anhinga was sunbathing. I can't figure how they balance on little skinny branches with their big floppy feet, but somehow they do it. http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/ http://cabbagehammock.blogspot.com/

On the way to pick up number one grandson at the high school, I just happened to have a camera. I almost forgot I was headed for the high school, LOL! The Great Blue Heron is in full breeding plumage, looking good! The White Ibis with brown splotches are last years chicks, about to get dumped when momma starts a new batch.

Though they perch far apart on the avian family tree, birds with the ability to learn songs use similar brain structures to sing their tunes. Neurobiologists at Duke University Medical Center now have an explanation for this puzzling likeness.In all three groups of birds with vocal learning abilities -- songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds -- the brain structures for singing and learning to sing are embedded in areas controlling movement, the researchers discovered. The team also found that areas in charge of movement share many functional similarities with the brain areas for singing. This suggests that the brain pathways used for...

I used my little antique Olympus C-2100UZ today, still going strong at 8 years old. The C-2100 was the first of the ultrazooms, only 2MP, but a very capable little camera. A Cardinal and some Goldfinches. http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/ http://cabbagehammock.blogspot.com/

The Cardinal is a regular, the Doves just started showing up recently. http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/ http://cabbagehammock.blogspot.com/

Back in 1989 a friend was putting in a driveway. There was an Oak sapling in the way. I chopped around the roots with my machete, brought it home and stuck it in the ground. It never shed a leaf, I can't get my arms around it now. In warm weather I just about live under it, and the critters like it too. I caught these shots from my porch steps this afternoon. Boss Cardinal was calling his mate.

Missing link feather fossils found in France By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 6:01pm GMT 20/02/2008 Primitive feathers that represent a key missing link in their evolution have been found, fossilised in 100-million-year-old amber from France. The fossils mark a step towards the shape of modern feathers As long as scientists have studied birds, they have puzzled over that most intricate of avian features - the feather. Because it is a marvellous feat of biological engineering, it has been siezed on by creationists trying to find evidence of designs that lie beyond the abilities of evolution. Scientists themselves have...

MIAMI -- A reputed gang member showed off his guns and taunted police on an Internet video to come and get him -- and they did just that. "Last night, we granted his wish," said U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta on Wednesday. "King Bird Road" Rudy Villanueva, 31, and another alleged gang member were arrested early Wednesday on federal weapons charges after the video appeared on several Internet sites in recent weeks. Investigators said they were incensed when they saw the video and heard the threats. "We were offended, obviously," said Lt. Israel McKee, head of the street gang unit...

Bird flu strikes UK wildlife 17:28 10 January 2008 NewScientist.com news service Debora MacKenzie The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in three dead swans on a nature reserve in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The outbreak, coming barely two months after H5N1 killed domestic turkeys on a farm 500 kilometres away, raises the possibility that the virus could be lurking in the UK’s wild bird population. "While this is obviously unwelcome news, we have always said that Britain is at a constant low level of risk of introduction of avian influenza," said acting chief veterinary officer...

Key To Avian Flu In Humans Discovered ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2008) — MIT researchers have uncovered a critical difference between flu viruses that infect birds and humans, a discovery that could help scientists monitor the evolution of avian flu strains and aid in the development of vaccines against a deadly flu pandemic.This transmission electron micrograph (TEM), taken at a magnification of 150,000x, revealed the ultrastructural details of an avian influenza A (H5N1) virion, a type of bird flu virus which is a subtype of avian influenza A. At this magnification, one may note the stippled appearance of the roughened surface...

Disease Likely Cause of Utah Bird Deaths Published: 1/4/08, 6:05 PM EDT SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - About 1,500 dead birds that have washed up on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake may have been killed by avian cholera, an expert said. Dead grebes, ducks and gulls were being sent to the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., for examination. "If I was a betting man, I would bet it was cholera," Tom Aldrich, a migratory-bird expert at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said Wednesday. Avian cholera doesn't affect humans, but people shouldn't...

Near home, Cabbage Hammock, Florida, almost Heaven!

OSCEOLA, Iowa - Presidential contender Mike Huckabee bagged a pheasant Wednesday, offering Iowa voters the image of an experienced outdoorsman on the hunt, shotgun blasting and dogs braying. Just a campaign gambit? "Maybe it will show that I certainly understand the culture of being outdoors," Huckabee said. "It's not something we had to go out and get a primer in. It's very much ordinary to me." The former Arkansas governor said back home he would be duck hunting on the day after Christmas, but pheasant hunting in Iowa — eight days before the state's leadoff nominating caucuses — was a...

12/20/2007 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- With the help of volunteers from around the base, the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing flight safety office reduced the number of bird strikes on aircraft by 30 percent here in November. They accomplished this through the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program, which uses awareness and proactivity to reduce the number of bird-strike threats against aviation assets. "We are here preserving the Air Force's combat capabilities," said Master Sgt. Brian Saunders, a flight safety office member." Last year alone $42 million in damage was done to Air Force aircraft from bird strikes." Helping...

This Great Blue Heron was fishing in Maria Sanchez Lake yesterday.

When I saw this bird I assumed it was my old regular neighborhood Red shouldered hawk. It's a Cooper's Hawk, first I've seen around the swamp, or maybe the first time I noticed.

A male American Kestrel, our smallest hawk.

I guess I'm hooked on watching these guys hunt. This one is a regular over a hayfield close to my home, he almost totally ignores me. There is another Red shouldered Hawk that is a newcomer, may be a female, it stays about 1/2 mile out of this birds territory. They can see a mouse or rat an amazing distance away, you think they are dozing, and all of a sudden they're airborne. I'm still trying for flight shots, so far I'm just not fast enough.

Bird Flu Finds Children's Lungs Faster ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2007) — New findings, reported in the journal Respiratory Research, about how the virus binds to the respiratory tract and lung suggest children may be particularly susceptible to avian influenza,. The results also mean that previous receptor distribution studies may have to be re-evaluated.Pediatric tissue sample. The researchers found that a particular form of MAA (MAA1) displayed widespread binding throughout the respiratory tract, but was particularly good at binding to children's cells in the lower respiratory tract. (Credit: Image courtesy of BioMed Central)" John Nicholls and colleagues at the University of...

Alaska Bird Makes Longest Nonstop Flight Ever Measured Dave Hansford in Wellington, New Zealand for National Geographic News September 14, 2007 A female shorebird was recently found to have flown 7,145 miles (11,500 kilometers) nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand—without taking a break for food or drink. It's the longest nonstop bird migration ever measured, according to biologists who tracked the flight using satellite tags. The bird, a wader called a bar-tailed godwit, completed the journey in nine days. In addition to demonstrating the bird's surprising endurance, the trek confirms that godwits make the southbound trip of their annual migration...

Maria Sanchez Lake, near downtown St. Augustine, Florida.

July 14, 2007 -- The Upper East Side's beloved hawk, Pale Male, was the target of a cruel attack yesterday when a construction worker pummeled him with rocks - and now bird lovers are fearing for Pale Male's life. The famous fowl was struck and likely wounded with at least one thrown object in an incident that one steamed cop called "a crime against nature." Witnesses said the bird was perched on a piece of masonry on an upper floor of 1040 Fifth Avenue at E. 85th St. at 3 p.m. when the worker, standing on the roof above, started...

Potentially lethal H5N1 bird flu resurfaces in Europe 27 Jun, 2007 l 1751 hrs PRAGUE: A bird flu scare in Central Europe was spreading on Wednesday as Czech authorities said the H5N1 virus potentially lethal to humans had been found in a flock of chickens after discoveries among wild birds in Germany. The presence of H5N1 bird flu was confirmed on a poultry farm near the village of Norin, just four kilometers (2.5 miles) from a farm where some 6,000 turkeys were slaughtered last week after the deadly virus was detected there. The farm in Tisova was the first incidence...

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China has uncovered the skeletal remains of a gigantic, surprisingly bird-like dinosaur, which has been classed as a new species.Eight meters (26 ft) long and standing at twice the height of a man at the shoulder, the fossil of the feathered but flightless Gigantoraptor erlianensis was found in the Erlian basin in Inner Mongolia, researchers wrote in the latest issue of Nature.The researchers said the dinosaur, discovered in April 2005, weighed about 1.4 tonnes and lived some 85 million years ago.According to lines of arrested growth detected on its bones, it died as a young adult...

The Great Crested Flycatchers are feeding a nest full of Chicks, it is amazing to see how many bugs they catch. I'm hoping to see the babies learn to fly.

Bird flu not only pandemic risk, U.S. experts warn Tue May 8, 2007 7:03PM EDT CHICAGO (Reuters) - While many health experts see the H5N1 bird flu virus as a likely cause for an influenza pandemic, another influenza virus could just as likely mutate into a global killer, U.S. health experts said on Tuesday. "You can not accurately predict if and when a given virus will become a pandemic virus," said Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci said too little is known about exactly how and when a virus will mutate. Focusing...

U.S. health agency stages bird flu war gameBy Matthew Bigg Apr 27, 2007 ATLANTA (Reuters) - A leading U.S. health agency staged a war game this week to test its response to one of the worst health emergencies it could imagine -- an outbreak of avian flu on American soil. The exercise, which ended on Friday, was designed to simulate how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would marshal its resources, coordinate with other branches of government and, crucially, reassure the public while preparing it for a possible pandemic. "If we were at the beginning of a pandemic this...

Subject: Bird Feeder A Sad Parallel... I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table...everywhere. Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had...

Kate's jacket was torn into bits and pieces. It all happened within a couple seconds. However before I will tell you about... ...The disasters at home. Brian, who isn't Brian Adams loves to whistle and he calls that singing. His room is like an old farm with plenty of trees. Trees have nests but the birds came from Mars or some other planet. The still whistle but it's more like a referee whistle. That's why his neighbor Kate, wanted to grab him from his throat and place him inside a cage. That was a bit impossible but she wanted a...

Many people live extraordinary lives. Many have extraordinary deaths. But very, very few can hope to save the world 90 years after they have passed away. One such man was the remarkably colourful Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, one of those larger-than-life Victorians who lived in an era when great men really could, and did, change the shape of the world. Sir Mark Sykes was a baronet, a diplomat, a father of six children, Tory MP, a senior general in the Army and a skilled negotiator. A close friend of T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and Chaim Weizmann - who went...

A small band of searchers rousts itself each morning from a secret camp deep in the woods of a forgotten northwest Florida swamp. They have endured freezing nights, foul drinking water, long stints without showers and an outhouse with only one wall, all in a search for a ghostly creature that may not even exist. They are on a quest to find and photograph an ivory-billed woodpecker to show the world the bird is not extinct. They have invited me along for a two-day glimpse into a mission that is as inspiring as it is mundane. In the past few...

Posted on Fri, Mar. 23, Report details bird flu effectsA study by the Trust for America's Health says a pandemic would have serious economic, as well as health, consequences. BY DAVID GOLDSTEIN Eagle Washington bureau WASHINGTON -A major pandemic flu outbreak could kill more than 2 million Americans, leaving 90 million others ill and causing a serious economic recession, a new study says. The Kansas economy is projected to take a $6 billion hit; Missouri's twice that much. "Everywhere will be ground zero," said Merideth Parrish, a public health outreach coordinator for the Kansas City (Mo.) Health Department, which is...

Did a young girl from a pioneering Fiordland family have the last human encounter with a moa? YVONNE MARTIN reports. It has gone down in history as one of the most puzzling rare-bird sightings and it happened in the remote south-west corner of New Zealand. What was the big blue bird that pioneer Alice McKenzie saw at Martins Bay, 30km north of Milford Sound, in 1880? Experts are still debating nearly 130 years later. Did a species of moa, such as the little bush moa, survive human predation and live on in the Fiordland wilderness 400 years after they were...

AIRO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - An Egyptian girl has died of bird flu, bringing the number of confirmed deaths from the disease in Egypt to 12, a World Health Organisation official said on Monday. "There was a case, 17 years old, from Fayyoum. She tested positive ... Unfortunately, she passed away," said Hassan el-Bushra, regional adviser for communicable diseases surveillance for the World Health Organisation. Bushra said the girl, identified as Nouri Nadi, was believed to have been infected after coming into contact with sick and dead birds. The new case brings to 20 the number of people known to...

Bird flu found on British farm By Bonnie Malkin and agencies Last Updated: 5:35pm GMT 03/02/2007 Government vets are investigating an outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm after thousands of turkeys died. Police have cordoned off the farm Experts were called to a Bernard Matthews site at Holton near Halesworth, Suffolk, late on Thursday following the outbreak of an "unexplained" illness. Around 2,600 turkeys are thought to have died from the virus. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said preliminary tests had confirmed a bird flu outbreak. Later, the EU Commission confirmed the potentially deadly...

Jakarta bird ban ends 'way of life' By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Jakarta Jakarta's streets have been cleared of birds Jakarta's first poultry patrol was anything but a surprise to the residents of Kemayoran district. The red and white banner strung across the narrow street read "You are entering a chicken-free zone". Under it, sheltering from the rain in coffee shops and doorways, dozens of police and officials waited for the governor's arrival. "He'll go down that road", one shop owner said, "and he'll be stopping off at the house to your right." The city's Governor Sutiyoso came to stamp...