Bird brains

Now I've heard it all ... OK, not really, but I'm much closer after reading this story about an alleged bird-fighting ring in Connecticut.

On its face, that's not too surprising, until you read the fighting birds were canaries and saffron finches.

Mark Twain once wrote of a man who would bet on anything, including which of two birds would be the first to fly off a fence rail. Sounds like some of these people may have suffered from such an addiction, but to an incredibly sad level.