Getting the birdie

Serious alarm for ornithologically inclined staff at the Open University, already contemplating the possible loss of 350 jobs in a shake-up of the institution. Headline on a column in the latest issue of Birds magazine was "THE LOST OU". A closer reading provided reassurance for those not already checking the telephone number of the nearest consultant cardiologist - the Ou turns out to be a Hawaiian bird which has not been seen since its island home was hit by a hurricane in 1992.