Oh no!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/may/25/birds-wildlife-conservation

Sobering stuff. Our British birds are going going about to be gone, and then no more will we hear the skylark's 'profuse strains of unpremeditated art', or see the yellowhammer perched in a hedge, brightening the countryside and probably your day with its attractive colour. 17 other avian species inhabiting the British countryside are also at risk, including the lapwing and the kestrel.

If you need cheering up after reading this, I bet there are some gawky goslings in a river near YOU that would be delighted to have you pay a visit. Especially if you came bearing bread.

Bird of Third, TT09

There is no doubting that the hoopoe is an exceptionally fine bird. In a way, he combines many creatures in a single form. To wit (to woo): he has zebra-like wings, a vaguely lion-like mane/crest and a beak sort of reminiscent of an anteater's snout, with which he does indeed extract ants from the ground. Like many a human, he likes to sunbathe, which he does by spreading out his wings on the ground and tilting his head back. However, this does not result in a tan.

The hoopoe's name derives from his 'oop-oop-oop' call. Humans have traditionally had mixed feelings about this particular bird. To much of Europe they were thieves and to Scandinavians they were harbingers of war, while it is very possible that King Tereus of Thrace, who raped his wife's sister Philomela, was turned into a hoopoe as a punishment (please see Ovid's Metamorphoses for further details). On a more positive note, a non-bird-loving close relation of TWW recently saw a hoopoe in Italy and was so taken with him that she rushed out to buy an ornithology book in order to learn more. Plus: in Ancient Egypt they were sacred, in Persia they were a symbol of virtue, and in Israel the hoopoe has recently been chosen as national bird.