/nginx/o/2020/09/17/13350892t1h8a3d.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "VIDEO⟩ Thousands of dead birds in the US have fallen from the sky and no one understands why – Globe – Nature and Animals")
These are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of birds that died during migration over the southwestern United States.
–
Biologists are trying to find out the exact cause of death, which is why migratory birds die so suddenly and en masse.
–
Marta Desmond, a professor in the Department of Wildlife and Conservation at New Mexico State University, told CNN that the number of dead birds was abnormal and that they were behaving strangely and apathetically before they died.
–
“It’s a very big event, hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions of dead birds, and we may not have covered it all,” she said.
–
In addition to New Mexico, dead birds have also been found in Colorado, Texas and Arizona. The extinction does not appear to affect the species that inhabit the southwestern states, only those that travel across them.
–
Desmond and other scientists attribute bird deaths to climate change and wildfires that have devastated the west coast: the fires may have forced the birds to leave earlier than usual, so they didn’t have enough time to store fat and energy.
–
New Mexico State University biologist Alison Salasa, who helps study the mystical deaths of birds, wrote on Twitter that she had collected dead birds “off the streets, on towns, at local golf courses, literally everywhere.”
–
“The birds look perfectly healthy on the outside,” she said, “except that they are extremely weak.”
—
“They don’t have fat reserves and little muscle mass, almost as if they’ve flown until they just couldn’t do it anymore.”
–
Other scientists claim that the smoke from the forest fires may have caused lung damage to the birds, possibly leading to their death. The area has been suffering from drought for years, which means fewer insects that the birds feed on.
–
The University of New Mexico has launched an online project where locals can post their observations and photos of dead birds to help researchers better understand the cause of their deaths. While it’s still a mystery, Desmond CNN said she’s convinced of one thing:
–
“Climate change has a big role to play here.”
— .
