Beware of James Bird and other UFOs

Beleaguered governments clearly cannot be too careful these days, given the limitless possibilities science now affords to snoopers. While bees have not yet been cited as likely culprits in inexplicable sting operations, the recent detention of a stork in Egypt on charges of being a spying swan — admittedly a clever cover given their similar colouring — brings the spotlight back on unusual recruits to the spook business.

Egypt obviously suspects that interested parties will stop at nothing to gather information and perhaps even foment dissent. It was not surprising, therefore, that a pigeon was nabbed there on suspicion of carrying a microfilm. There was also talk of GPS-controlled sharks. So, it was inevitable that a French stork masquerading as a swan flying over the restive country with an unidentified object clipped on its wing would set off alarms.

Though the device turned out to be merely an electronic migration tracker, unscrupulous agencies and superpowers using genuine birds — who are probably not even willing accomplices — instead of the expected electronic drones in the future cannot be ruled out. Given that millions of birds arrive in India in winter from all sorts of conflict-ridden areas, it may be time for authorities to investigate whether some of them are indeed under-feather agents.