.... or something like that.
Posted on 12/11/2019 4:29:31 PM PST by fruser1
The birds were initially spotted in the sky by a passer-by, who returned to the road around an hour later and found them all dead.
"My gut instinct is that they have been poisoned, but we don't know. It is hard to say really."
The couple have contacted the police and the Animal and Plant Health Agency who they say are looking into the incident.
"We are keen to ensure the incident is investigated by the authorities, but for the time being it is important not to speculate on the cause."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
Fallout? Jericho episode.
You know the old saying, “A little birdie told me.”
One of these was getting ready to sing.
Those birds did not kill themselves.
Nor did Epstein
Good. Now het the English Sparrows
Interesting.
Just a couple of years ago, researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently on on segment of the Mass Pike, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.
A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and, to everyone’s relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.
However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird’s beaks and claws. By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.
The MTA (Massachusetts Transit Authority) then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.
The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause: when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger.
The scientific conclusion was that while all the lookout crows could say “Cah”, none could say “Truck.”
Droll. Very droll.
:-)
:)
Snicker
.... or something like that.
Farfetched?
Run over a goose and the state will come at you with full force.
“Does happen frequently, and it ain’t globull warming.”
You see! Right there is the speculation they are trying to avoid. ;<)
Some years back, I struck and killed four birds at once while driving. It was during the winter, and these four birds were in a tight flock, following the leader, like the Blue Angels. The leader decided to swoop down in front of me when I was going 40 mph, and that was that.
As I looked in my rear-view mirror, I saw the four little bodies go skittering around on the road.
Proof that single-point-of-failure mishaps can happen in the animal world too.
I used to drive an MG, and one time I was driving down a road with the windows open, and a sparrow flew in the window, flew all around the tiny interior of that car, then zipped out the passenger window!
I always viewed birds as not likely to be hit by a car, but I do think they make mistakes...:)
Heh, the geese are crazy around here...they own the roads they walk across, and it is funny to see commuters trying to figure out how to get around them as the geese stand intransigently in front of a stopped car!
Texans don't stop for no goose.
It’s one of those jokes an uncle would tell us when we were little tykes...
It’s a good one!
This is interesting. When I have seen this, it is migratory birds that have fed heavily on insects that were poisoned, usually south of the developed world.
These are starlings, certainly migratory, but they are traveling south, this time of year. When a bird is fattening up before migrating, poisons can get stored in their fat layers. Then during a migration, they metabolize the fats and get a lethal dose. They just fall out of the sky.
The timing of this suggests that they were feeding on poisoned insects, to the north, before they flew south.
They inadvertantly flew in the vicinity of Eric Swalwell when he produced poisonous gas.
Thanks!
It’s a rare day when I wake up to a shaggy dog story.
Oh so true! Starlings are invasive here.
By the way, I noticed these two competing ideas in the article, located very close to each other within it.
1. “I think there are hundreds of them.”
2. “Starlings are a red list species after all.”
Common sense isn’t so common anymore.
P.S. It’s hard to believe that Starlings are on the *red* list, being that’s the one where one of the criteria is that they are globally threatened. Perhaps the RSPB should visit my backyard.
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