Residents in North Texas are reporting birds acting loopy, disoriented, and smashing into windows in increasing numbers. Turns out, it's the common phenomenon of migrating cedar waxwings eating berries that have fermented into booze. From UPI:
"Because they eat predominantly berries, sometimes they eat berries that have fermented and are a little bit past their prime," Rachel Richter, an urban wildlife biologist with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, told WFAA-TV. "Sometimes they tend to overindulge a little bit, which can get them intoxicated.[…]
Cedar waxwings are generally found in Texas from late December until April. Experts said the birds have large livers that can detoxify the ethanol and prevent them from suffering any long-term ill effects from fermented berries.
