Walking Boris this morning, we came across a bird flapping feebly & helplessly in the grass by the side of the road. I assumed it had been hit by a car & broken a wing. It tried to hop & flutter along the ground to get away from Boris, but without much energy. I was standing there vaguely wondering whether there was any point taking it to the animal hospital, when a neighbor came up. This guy is a major plants & animals man — used to be a farmer, in fact. “Don’t touch it!” he warned. Why? “Could be the bird flu. I wouldn’t touch a bird nowadays without rubber gloves on.”

Is this right? The bird did look really unwell, though I’d assumed that was just exhaustion. Is this bird flu something an ordinary suburban householder needs to worry about?