Free Republic

A pigeon that nuzzled too close to another bird on a high-voltage line Wednesday got zapped into eternity and likely sparked the four-alarm brush fire that scorched several acres on San Jose's Communications Hill, PG&E officials said Thursday. San Jose fire Capt. Scott Kouns said the cause of the fire that blackened some 15 acres and the skies above before it was extinguished two hours later officially remains under investigation. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and an outbuilding was burned. But Jennifer Zerwer, spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric, said utility crews found a downed 12-kilovolt power line and a...

State officials have authorized a special hunt for snow geese this spring in an attempt to control an exploding population that has damaged fields and nesting areas.    Snow geese in the Brigantine area.  Hunters will be allowed to kill an unlimited number of the geese from March 11 to April 18 under a conservation order issued by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. The number of snow geese in North America has increased to more than 1 million in recent years — twice the ideal population, state officials said. "They have become exceptionally abundant," said Ted Nichols,...

We heard it through the grapevine - Queens has a purple pigeon. The royal-hued bird wasn't born that way, though. Someone with a sick sense of humor - or a problem with pigeons - painted him purple. "Itwas terrible," said Joe Mora, an animal lover who rescued the birdThursday from a Long Island City playground, where onlookers were gawking at the oddly-colored columbine. "It looks like this was done intentionally...it could have been blinded," Mora said. He tried coaxing the lethargic bird to eat while asking anyone and everyone for advice on how to clean paint from its feathers and...

<p>EXARKANA, Texas (AP) -- Poisoned pigeons began nose-diving into pavement and dying on downtown sidewalks, marring the city's annual festival.</p> <p>Authorities cleaned up more than 25 sick or dead birds that apparently had eaten poisoned corn from the roof of a nearby bank branch.</p>

Two pet pigeons were hanged and six others decapitated in two separate incidents at the same home, town police said. A Clark Street family called police at 6 p.m. Friday to report that someone had broken into a pigeon coop and decapitated one pigeon and hung another with a burlap rope. The family called again at 6 p.m. Saturday to report that five pigeons had been decapitated and a sixth hanged with a wire. South Windsor police said they have a lead in the eight bird deaths, but did not provide details.