I can't say I've ever heard of a "golden swift" or a swift that looks
like a finch.
http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2003/10/30/1067233322225.htm
No clues in bird autopsy
Date: October 31 2003
By Annabel Crabb
Canberra
Investigations into the death of birds at Canberra's Parliament House
deepened yesterday when an autopsy was done on a golden swift found
dead in the grounds.
The bird was discovered by Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett who, after
an unsuccessful attempt to table the small corpse in the Senate,
surrendered it to Senate President Paul Calvert.
Senator Calvert has called in an ACT veterinary specialist to
investigate the recent deaths of about a dozen currawongs around
Parliament House, and to determine whether their demise is linked to a
poisoning operation designed to eradicate an infestation of Bogong
moths.
Before the autopsy, a spokesman for Senator Calvert said he doubted
that the swift was a victim of poisoned Bogongs. "As far as we can
ascertain, this four-inch finch hit the window, broke its neck and
carked it," he said.
The autopsy results - to be sent to the Joint House Department today -
vindicated his scepticism: the bird had a broken sternum, consistent
with blunt trauma or window collision.
Investigations into the currawong deaths have been frustrated by the
lack of fresh corpses for autopsies.
The dead birds found last week have already been buried.
Senator Bartlett, who found the dead swift outside his office late on
Wednesday, created a stir when he entered the Senate chamber and tried
to have the body formally tabled yesterday.
It is believed to be the first attempt to table a corpse in the upper
house.
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