Over the last month, thousands of dead birds have rained down on Esperance, Australia and nobody knows why. Quite a few species–including wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters, crows, hawks, and pigeons–have all turned up by the dozens dead in residents' yards. Death reports stopped last week and wildlife officials are still investigating. From the Australian:
Wildlife officers are baffled by the "catastrophic" event, which the Department of Environment and Conservation said began well before last week's freak storm.
On Monday, Esperance, 725km southeast of Perth, was declared a natural disaster zone…
The Department of Agriculture and Food, which conducted the autopsies, has almost ruled out an infectious process.Acting chief veterinary officer Fiona Sunderman said toxins were the most likely cause but the deaths could be due to anything from toxic algae to chemicals and pesticides.
Dr Sunderman said there were no leads yet on which of potentially hundreds of toxins might be responsible. Some birds were seen convulsing as they died.
Link
Previously on BB:
• Birds on acid Link
• When crows attack Link
• Animals that play dead Link
UPDATE: BB reader Don Lehman reminds us that dozens of mysteriously dead birds were found in downtown Austin, Texas on Monday. Link
