Rare 'Siamese twin' birds found
An apparent set of conjoined twin birds - an incredibly rare find - has been discovered in Arkansas, authorities said.
The pair of barn swallows, attached at the hip by skin and possibly muscle tissue, is being sent to the Smithsonian Institution for examination and confirmation, Arkansas wildlife officials said.
"I can't even say it's one in a million - it's probably more than that," said Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.
"There's just very little to no records of such a thing."
The birds, found in White County, fell out of a nest as a healthy sibling flew off to learn how to hunt with its parents, Mrs Rowe said.
The birds first appeared to have only three legs, but further examination found a fourth leg tucked up underneath the skin connecting the pair.
Mrs Rowe said the landowner who found them probably kept the birds for a day before calling wildlife officials.
By the time officials arrived, the birds were not eating. One died early Friday and a veterinarian later put the other one down.
Finding conjoined birds is rare because they likely die before being discovered, Mrs Rowe said.
X-rays of the pair found each bird was fully formed. She said the birds would have had to come from a double-yolk egg.
Barn swallows can live for several years, though the conjoined twins might not have lived that long even if they had been separated.
Mrs Rowe said it would have been difficult to teach the birds to fly.
Is it rare because they are birds or because they came from an egg? I've seen pics of double headed snakes, turtles, gators, etc, but they have never been fully developed siamese twins like the birds.
An apparent set of conjoined twin birds - an incredibly rare find - has been discovered in Arkansas, authorities said.
The pair of barn swallows, attached at the hip by skin and possibly muscle tissue, is being sent to the Smithsonian Institution for examination and confirmation, Arkansas wildlife officials said.
"I can't even say it's one in a million - it's probably more than that," said Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.
"There's just very little to no records of such a thing."
The birds, found in White County, fell out of a nest as a healthy sibling flew off to learn how to hunt with its parents, Mrs Rowe said.
The birds first appeared to have only three legs, but further examination found a fourth leg tucked up underneath the skin connecting the pair.
Mrs Rowe said the landowner who found them probably kept the birds for a day before calling wildlife officials.
By the time officials arrived, the birds were not eating. One died early Friday and a veterinarian later put the other one down.
Finding conjoined birds is rare because they likely die before being discovered, Mrs Rowe said.
X-rays of the pair found each bird was fully formed. She said the birds would have had to come from a double-yolk egg.
Barn swallows can live for several years, though the conjoined twins might not have lived that long even if they had been separated.
Mrs Rowe said it would have been difficult to teach the birds to fly.
Is it rare because they are birds or because they came from an egg? I've seen pics of double headed snakes, turtles, gators, etc, but they have never been fully developed siamese twins like the birds.