Bird flu forces cancellations of bird-singing competitions
Asian Economic News - February 23, 2004
SINGAPORE, Feb. 20 Kyodo The outbreak of bird flu in Asia has forced cancellation of dozens of bird-singing competitions in the region. Organizers of an annual regional bird-singing tournament in Yala, southern Thailand, one of the biggest such competitions in the region, have already deci... (Read More)

Bird dilemma: more seabirds killed when boats discard fewer fish
Science News - February 21, 2004, by S. Milius
Records stretching back 30 years indicate a tricky problem for marine conservation: When fishing vessels discard less fish-waste material, scavenging seabirds called great skuas attack and kill more neighboring seabirds. The link shows up in an unusually long dietary study of great skuas nestin... (Read More)

Wild Birds Should Not Be Killed to Fight Bird Flu; Strict Controls and Surveillance Needed to Keep Wild Birds Away From Poultry
PR Newswire - February 18, 2004
WASHINGTON and ROME, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Eliminating wild birds is not an appropriate measure to control the spread of the avian influenza virus, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. Killing wild birds will not help to prevent future bird flu outbreaks, FAO said. Pr... (Read More)

High-rise buildings are incubators for disease - Insiders Outlook
Real Estate Weekly - February 18, 2004, by Phil Waldorf
Long known as a disease associated with rural regions of third world countries, the Avian Flu is threatening to infect much larger population centers and become an epidemic for which there is no cure. While this disease has gained much publicity, illnesses associated with birds have been around f... (Read More)

Where'd I put that? Maybe it takes a bird brain to find the car keys
Science News - February 14, 2004, by Susan Milius
Should humanity get a little too full of itself and its intellectual prowess, there's always Clark's nutcracker to think about. This pale-gray bird with black wings and a long beak flits through woodlands in the West, collecting seeds during times of plenty and tucking them away for a hungry wint... (Read More)

Exotic Plants May Spell Danger in Your Garden; Some Exotic Plants Are Invasive, Reducing the Natural Habitat for Birds And Animals
PR Newswire - February 11, 2004
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- As you visit your local garden center to plan your spring planting, look carefully at the plants being offered. Are they native to your region? While most are just fine, in some regions of the country specific exotic plants have become invasive, eventually eli... (Read More)

Singapore bans birds from Japan, other bird flu countries
Asian Economic News - February 2, 2004
SINGAPORE, Jan. 27 Kyodo Singapore has banned imports of ornamental birds from Japan and other countries that have been affected by the bird flu virus, a spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore said Tuesday. The ban on import of exotic birds from Japan, Thailand, ... (Read More)

EU halts imports of pet birds in wake of bird flu
Asian Economic News - February 2, 2004
BRUSSELS, Jan. 29 Kyodo The European Union has halted imports of pet birds, such as parrots and parakeets, from countries where bird flu cases have been confirmed, the European Commission said Wednesday. The move came after the outbreak of bird flu in Asia. Last year, the EU imported abou... (Read More)