Turkish authorities have cleared a renegade bird captured in the Ağın district of the eastern province of Elazığ of suspicions of working for Israel's state-of-the-art intelligence agency.
Residents of Altınavya village became suspicious that the little kestrel could be more than a bird that lost its way when they found it wore a metallic ring stamped with the words "24311 Tel Avivunia Israel," and delivered it to the district governorate.
Local authorities submitted the bird to careful medical examinations to ensure that it did not carry microchips. An X-ray test carried out at Fırat University in Elazığ finally convinced the authorities that the bird was just a simple specimen of Israeli wildlife. However, the X-ray showed the initial degree of suspicion, as the bird had been registered under the name "Israeli spy" by medical personnel.
Tagging birds is a common practice in ornithology as it helps scientists track bird migration routes.
Following the tests, the authorities decided not to press official charges and the falsely accused bird was free to fly away.
Saudi Arabia caught an Israeli "spy" vulture in 2011, and Sudan caught another one in late 2012. Iran accused Israel of sending pigeons with "invisible strings" to spy on the Natanz nuclear plant.
The definitive list of Zionist animal spies is in this article I wrote for NewsRealBlog. I also once made a comic strip about this evergreen example of Arab and Muslim paranoia.
(h/t Gidon Shaviv)