Bird experts at both the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology were at a loss to explain the benefits of nightingale droppings as a skin treatment.

CNN: Try a placenta or bird poop facial

Bird-lovers will appreciate the National Aviary.

FORBES: See green

Also nearby is its water-park sister, Aquatica, and the worlds-away Discovery Cove, where a limited number of guests enjoy a day of lounging on a private beach, swimming with the dolphins and floating along the lazy river through the bird aviary.

BBC: Lonely Planet's top five day trips from Miami

Of course, even McNerney may consider himself on starvation rations compared to some of the more rapacious buzzards in the American corporate aviary.

FORBES: A Question for McKesson's John Hammergren: Are You Really Worth $131 Million?

He sources the eggs through a registered farm or aviary (emus and their eggs are protected in the wild), then treats the eggs with a special resin to harden the shell.

BBC: The new 'Australian made'

The actual venue for the news conference was no less strange - a cross between a tent and a greenhouse, perhaps like an abandoned aviary - with greenery draped around the white trellis work, miniature orange trees in tubs and two large trees growing up between the TV cameras.

BBC: Obama tries to reassure Palestinians

Much like Flickr did earlier this year, Twitter has tapped Aviary to power all of the company's filters and effects.

ENGADGET: The social filter war is officially on: Twitter adds free photo filters to Android and iPhone apps

At the Frankfurt fair, they stood out like an owl in an aviary of tropical parrots.

ECONOMIST: G?tterd?mmerung postponed

The three-star Cabanas Hotel is the most informal and family-friendly option, with facilities including a playground, aviary and farmyard.

BBC: South Africa��s kitsch casino