MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's new agriculture commissioner,
John McMillan, says dead birds found recently in large numbers in two north Alabama counties will be tested at the State Diagnostic Lab in Auburn and the results on the cause of death should be known within a week.

One incident near Athens in Limestone County involved about 300 blackbirds. Another incident in Scottsboro in Jackson County involved at least 38 birds. McMillan said the deaths are not considered a public health threat at this time.

He said large-scale deaths of wild birds should be reported to the state agriculture or conservation departments or the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Alabama Wildlife Services. He said the public should avoid or limit contact with any dead wild animal.

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