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Conjoined barn swallows cause stir in Arkansas

The Associated Press -
By JON GAMBRELL – , LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — It’s an Arkansas bird story that at first might be hard to swallow. A pair of conjoined barn swallows, attached at the hip by skin and possibly muscle tissue, will be sent to the Smithsonian Institution for study and examination, Arkansas wildlife officials said Friday.

If confirmed, officials say it could prove to be an incredibly rare find — a set of conjoined twins among birds.
“I can’t even say it’s one in a million — it’s probably more than that,” said Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. “There’s just very little to no records of such a thing.”
The birds, found by a landowner in White County earlier this week, fell out of a nest as a healthy sibling flew off to learn how to hunt with its parents, Rowe said. The birds first appeared to have only three legs, but further examination found a fourth leg tucked up underneath the skin connecting the pair.
Rowe said the landowner likely kept the birds for a day before calling wildlife officials. By the time officials arrived, the two birds refused to eat. One of the birds died early Friday morning and a veterinarian later euthanized the other.
While conjoined twins have been documented in humans, other mammals and reptiles, finding conjoined birds is difficult, as they likely die before being discovered, Rowe said. X-rays of the pair found each bird was fully formed, Rowe said. Scientists at the Smithsonian will examine the birds to determine whether they were fraternal twins or identical twins.
Rowe said the birds would have had to come from a double-yolk egg.
Barn swallows hunt insects in flight and make mud nests. The typical bird can live for several years, though the conjoined twins might not have lived that long even if they had been successfully separated. Rowe said it would have been difficult to teach the birds to fly.
“It’s just amazing to think they were attached and had two brains,” Rowe said

Add comment August 14th, 2008

Bird’s Nest Soup

www.melroseflowers.com
Ingredients:
• 1 cup looselly packed dried bird’s nest
• 1 whole chicken breast, about ¾ lb.
• ¼ cup cold water

• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 quart chicken stock
• a pinch ground white pepper
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbs. cold water
• ¼” thick cooked ham, minced

Instructions:
• Soak the nest in warm water for 3 hours. Then carefully remove any protruding feathers. Wash it under running water. Place the nest in a small saucepan, cover it with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil it uncovered for 5 minutes, then drain and discard the water.
• Fillet the chicken and remove the white tendon in each fillet. Chop the fillet coarsely into small bits.
• Place the minced chicken in a bowl, sprinkle it with the cornstarch and salt and stir.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are frothy, then pour them into the chicken mixture and mix thoroughly. The chicken should be light and fluffy.
• In a saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Drop in the bird’s nest, bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp. salt and pepper. Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to recombine it and add it to the pan, stirring constantly. Add the chicken, stir and remove the pan from heat.

Add comment August 1st, 2008