If you want to see this in action, just visit the CCC event. People regularly manage to DoS (or just overload, I don't know) even the DHCP servers. So at some point all you will get from the network is a little wooden peg with a number. :)

On using avian carriers to transport the IP information: would standard bird tags, etched with the IP information, overcome the weight problem?

It doesn't solve the problem of lost avian carriers, of course. :-)

so, this is like the DHCP client/server version of IP over avian carriers?