Avifauna in the News:
(1) Outside of Medina, North Dakota, 27,000 white pelicans mysteriously disappear from Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge; (2) along a strip of road in western England, a buzzard (which, for AmE speakers, is a hawk) terrorizes passing motorists and cyclists; and (3) in London, researchers found, ducks are noisier than their countryside brethren, most likely owing to the need to be heard over the many airplanes, trains, and police sirens found in the city.
UPDATE on (2): the dive-bombing bird, much to the dismay of many, including one of the cyclists who was attacked, is no more.
(AP: “Pelican disappearance drawing widespread interest; still unsolved” [June 15, 2004]; Reuters: “Angry Buzzard Terrorizes English Country Road” [June 11, 2004]); Reuters: “If It Quacks Like a City Duck, It’s a City Duck” [June 9, 2004]; Reuters: “Dive-Bombing Buzzard Flies Last Mission” [June 18, 2004])