More Dying Birds Fall From Louisiana Sky

ABCNEWS – The mystery of the dying birds deepened for baffled experts after another 500 birds were found littering a Louisiana highway days after 5,000 redwinged blackbirds plunged to their death on New Year’s eve.

Just 300 miles away from Beebe, Ark., where thousands of dying birds fell from the sky this past weekend, Louisiana officials revealed that hundreds of birds were found dead Monday.

“We have blackbirds, starlings, sparrows. Several species of birds are affected,” said Dr. Jim Lacour, Louisiana’s state wildlife veterinarian.

The birds were found in the Labarre community, 30 miles from Baton Rouge. Officials say that the two incidents are pure coincidence and unrelated to one another.

Louisiana officials believe the birds fell to their death either late Sunday or early Monday after flying into a power line. The birds sustained injuries from broken beaks to broken backs. What prompted the birds to fly into the power line, however, is still a mystery.

Dan Cristol, co-founder of the Institute for Integrative Bird Behavior Studies at the College of William & Mary, told the Associated Press that the Louisiana birds may have been ill or startled from their roost, then hit the power line. “They don’t hit a power line for no reason,” Cristol said.

The bigger mystery remains the mass death of 5,000 redwing blackbirds in Beebe, Ark.