Thursday, January 6, 2011

Bird Deaths and Madison Lab

The National Wildlife Health Center in Madison claims to have solved the mystery of thousands of red-winged blackbirds falling from the sky in Arkansas.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The mystery of the deaths of thousands of blackbirds in Arkansas this month has been solved.

They died of blunt-force trauma, according to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison. Samples of the blackbirds - and other blackbirds from a separate mass die-off about the same time in Louisiana - were brought to the little-known laboratory on Madison's west side for necropsies.

"They died of impact force to their bodies," said Scott Wright, chief of disease investigations at the center.

He said the birds clearly showed signs of bruises and hemorrhaging.

About 3,000 blackbirds died on New Year's Eve. Fireworks probably sent them flying from their roost sites.

"It's believed that the noise startled them - they are poor night fliers - and they were in close proximity to neighborhoods, and they flew into homes and cars," Wright said.

Of course the birds showed signs of "bruises and hemorrhaging."

They fell out of the sky and hit the ground! There's no way the birds wouldn't show signs of blunt-force trauma.

What proof is there that the birds flew into homes and cars?

Certainly, some people should have reported that birds were flying into their homes. You can hear it when a bird hits your house.

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