from HK Govt press release, 13 Jan:
Further confirmatory tests are still being conducted.
The carcass of the Crested Goshawk was collected by department staff at the hill behind Shek Kip Mei Health Centre on January 9 after being alerted by a member of the public.
Crested Goshawk is a raptor, preying on birds – chiefly songbirds.
Shek Kip Mei is highly urban, chiefly residential area in north Kowloon, with high-rise housing estates. Near the scrubby hillsides of hills just north of Kowloon, so wild Crested Goshawk may well occur here. (Though hope it’s checked for signs it was held in captivity, and dumped – as with at least one HK peregrine with H5N1).
My view: if proves to have H5N1, likely caught through a bird it ate. Can speculate that this was a bird released from captivity. (Or, if the goshawk wsa captive, fed on diseased chicken or some other bird.)
Post edited by: Martin, at: 2007/01/14 02:36