Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese airlines, which were among the hardest-hit companies during the 2003 SARS outbreak, tumbled amid the bird-flu worries.

WSJ: Bird Flu Worries Sink Airline Shares

The cause of the crash has not yet been officially confirmed but Mr Shahi said he had been informed the plane's engine burst into flames after being hit by a bird.

BBC: Nepal plane crash: UK dead remembered

Thailand, which was the world's fourth-largest exporter of poultry before bird flu hit, would be reluctant to abandon all hope of resuming exports.

ECONOMIST: Animal and human health

Not only were The Trashmen arguably the best surf band ever to come out of Minneapolis, but with their 1964 hit "Surfin' Bird, " they did something that no other band before or since has ever truly done.

NPR: 'Weird Al' Yankovic's Ode To The Trashmen

For an extended drive that takes in more bird habitats and a ghost town, drive east on Hwy 82 until you hit Hwy 80, the road to Tombstone.

BBC: Arizona��s top five scenic drives