Altogether 250 crows have died in Hazaribagh district in the last 48 hours following an undiagnosed disease.
District animal husbandry officer Yamuna Prasad said the birds died at Bishnugarh and Katkumsandi blocks, and their faeces would be sent to Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bhopal and Indian Institute of Virology, Pune for tests.
"After getting the reports we have deputed a team to create awareness among the villagers at every 5 km with necessary instructions like not to handle the dead crows without gloves and bury the birds immediately and using masks," he said.
According to Satya Prakash, the state coordinator of the Indian Bird Conservation Network, said tests on crow deaths in Jamshedpur and Bokaro have been found to be H5N-1.
Earth Changes
A strange sight in Bloomfield where 40 to 50 dead birds were found along U.S. 64.
Some of the black and speckled birds were lying on their backs with their small feet sticking up in the air, and at least one was missing its head.
The Daily-Times reports about 30 dead birds were north of the highway and about 20 additional piles of flattened feathers were on the highway.
Wildlife biologist John Kendall with the Bureau of Land Management investigated the cluster.
He thinks they likely roosted in shrubs north of the highway Wednesday night and died when they flew into the side of a large truck driving the highway late Wednesday or early Thursday.
It's also unlikely the birds died from environmental causes because they were so close together when they died.
Some of the black and speckled birds were lying on their backs with their small feet sticking up in the air, and at least one was missing its head.
The Daily-Times reports about 30 dead birds were north of the highway and about 20 additional piles of flattened feathers were on the highway.
Wildlife biologist John Kendall with the Bureau of Land Management investigated the cluster.
He thinks they likely roosted in shrubs north of the highway Wednesday night and died when they flew into the side of a large truck driving the highway late Wednesday or early Thursday.
It's also unlikely the birds died from environmental causes because they were so close together when they died.
© Utah Division of Wildlife Services, Lynn Chamberlain | AP Photo
In this photo provided by Utah Division of Wildlife Services, a surviving grebe waddles across the snow Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011 after thousands of the birds crash landed throughout Southern Utah on Monday night.
In this photo provided by Utah Division of Wildlife Services, a surviving grebe waddles across the snow Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011 after thousands of the birds crash landed throughout Southern Utah on Monday night.
Crews went to work cleaning up the dead birds and rescuing the survivors after the creatures crash-landed in the St. George area Monday night. By Tuesday evening, volunteers had rescued more than 2,000 birds, releasing them into nearby bodies of water.
"They're just everywhere," said Teresa Griffin, wildlife program manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resource's southern region. "It's been nonstop. All our employees are driving around picking them up, and we've got so many people coming to our office and dropping them off."
Officials say stormy conditions probably confused the flock of grebes, a duck-like aquatic bird likely making its way to Mexico for the winter. The birds tried to land in a Cedar City Wal-Mart parking lot and elsewhere.
© USGS
Earthquake Location
Earthquake Location
Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 10:10:08 UTC
Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 10:10:08 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
32.604°S, 179.103°W
Depth
34.1 km (21.2 miles)
Region
SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS
Distances
130 km (80 miles) S of L'Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands
386 km (239 miles) SSW of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands
734 km (456 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand
1107 km (687 miles) NNE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand
© Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
Lava from Kīlauea's remote Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent has again reached the ocean within Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park boundaries, at a spot scientists have named the West Ka'ili'ili ocean entry.
The arduous hike to West Ka'ili'ili from the bottom of Chain of Craters Road is approximately four miles one-way across an uneven flow field. Currently, several streams of lava are pouring into the ocean, providing dramatic views. Visitors who stay after dark can also see channels of lava flowing down the pali and across the flow field, but conditions can change at any time.
Hikers need to heed all warning signs and ranger advisories, and be aware of earth cracks and crevices, sharp terrain and rain-slick pāhoehoe lava and other hazards. Steam plumes produced by lava entering the sea contain fine lava fragments and acid droplets that can be harmful. Scientists also confirmed that a lava delta is being formed at the base of a sea cliff at West Ka'ili'ili, and are monitoring the area closely. Lava deltas can collapse with little warning, produce hot rock falls inland, and generate large local waves.
© Unknown
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings of strong winds and heavy rain for today (Thursday December 15) and tomorrow (Friday December 16).
Forecasters say there is a risk of very strong winds and heavy rain moving eastwards across parts of Southern England later on Thursday and Friday morning.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "There is still some uncertainty regarding the northward extent of any severe weather though southern parts remain most prone with southern coastal areas seeing highest gusts.
"The public is advised to monitor warnings for this period, noting that the warning may be upgraded."
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings of ice on Saturday and Sunday when temperatures are expected to plummet.
- 'Methane fields on a scale not seen before' - researcher
- More than 100 fountains, but could be 'thousands'
- Could cause rapid climate change
They made a terrifying discovery - huge plumes of methane bubbles rising to the surface from the seabed.
'We found more than 100 fountains, some more than a kilometre across,' said Dr Igor Semiletov, 'These are methane fields on a scale not seen before. The emissions went directly into the atmosphere.'
Far East Siberia: The melting of 'permafrost' under the sea has led to huge releases of methane - far more abrupt and intense than anything on land
© Niall Carson/PA
Waves in Dublin Bay as storms batter Ireland and the UK.
Waves in Dublin Bay as storms batter Ireland and the UK.
The wave was measured at a special buoy off the Donegal coast on Tuesday as a force ten storm raged.
Meteorologists at Met Eireann said the data, sent from about 60 miles from the Irish coast, provided evidence of the most severe weather conditions it has encountered that distance offshore.
"At 14.00 today the M4 weather buoy off the Donegal coast recorded a maximum wave height of 20.4 metres which is the highest maximum wave recorded in Irish waters," Met Eireann reported.
At Malin Head, the most northerly tip of Ireland, wind gusting to 87mph (140km/h) was recorded.
Elsewhere, the Irish coastguard has urged people to stay off exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbour walls, beaches and promenades during this week's forecast stormy weather.
The central coast of Maine was hit by two small earthquakes at nearly the same moment Monday night.
The earthquakes, which measured 2.3 and 1.9 on the Richter scale, occurred about a second apart, at 11:41 p.m. The epicenters were about 4 miles apart in an area of Hancock County near Ellsworth and Searsport, according to a preliminary earthquake report released by the United States Geological Survey.
More than 25 people have logged on to the USGS website so far to say they felt the quakes. Four reports came from the town of Blue Hill, where one epicenter was located. Ten reports came from the town of Sedgewick, the second epicenter.
"I thought a big giant tree had crashed into my house," said Shari Whelan, a resident of Sedgewick who works as a general manager at the Barncastle Hotel and Restaurant in Blue Hill. Whelan said she was watching television when the house began to shake and she heard a "boom," that sounded like thunder.
The earthquakes, which measured 2.3 and 1.9 on the Richter scale, occurred about a second apart, at 11:41 p.m. The epicenters were about 4 miles apart in an area of Hancock County near Ellsworth and Searsport, according to a preliminary earthquake report released by the United States Geological Survey.
More than 25 people have logged on to the USGS website so far to say they felt the quakes. Four reports came from the town of Blue Hill, where one epicenter was located. Ten reports came from the town of Sedgewick, the second epicenter.
"I thought a big giant tree had crashed into my house," said Shari Whelan, a resident of Sedgewick who works as a general manager at the Barncastle Hotel and Restaurant in Blue Hill. Whelan said she was watching television when the house began to shake and she heard a "boom," that sounded like thunder.
© Daniel Gilfeather / Rex Features
Waves batter a promenade in Ayrshire.
Waves batter a promenade in Ayrshire.
Much of the UK faces several days of battering winds and localised blizzards as a pair of particularly severe weather systems pass over the country.
The bad weather claimed a life on Tuesday night when an HGV driver was killed in a collision involving two cars and three lorries on the M5 in Gloucestershire, police said.
Many parts of England and Wales experienced gales and driving rain on Monday night. The UK's former ambassador to Venezuela and Chile had to be rescued by firefighters after a tree crashed through the roof of his family home in Winchester, Hampshire. Emergency services said 65-year-old Richard Wilkinson had an extremely lucky escape after the 18m (59ft) tree crushed the bungalow. "I was between sleeping and awake, listening to the storm outside when there was an enormous crash like the Eiffel Tower falling into the Crystal Palace," he said.
With winds gusting up to 70mph, Hampshire police said they had received more than 200 calls about flooding and fallen trees over 24 hours.
Comment: The following links may put this information into perspective.
Forget About Global Warming: We're One Step From Extinction!
Fire and Ice: The Day After Tomorrow