Is a Bird in the Hand Worth 2 to 6 Thousand in the Bush, in Your Yard, on the Street...

This series of events couldn't get any stranger. As for the cause, nobody really knows.

Check out his New York Times article.

Around 11 that night, thousands of red-winged blackbirds began falling out of the sky over this small city about 35 miles northeast of Little Rock. They landed on roofs, roads, front lawns and backyards, turning the ground nearly black and terrifying anyone who happened to be outside.

"One of them almost hit my best friend in the head," said Christy Stephens, who was standing outside among the smoking crowd at a party. "We went inside after that."

The cause is still being determined, but preliminary lab results from the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission revealed "acute physical trauma" in samples of the dead birds. There were no indications of disease, though tests were still being done for the presence of toxic chemicals.

There are many theories as to what happened to the birds. High altitude hail, tornadoes, cold air. Perhaps any of the these things could have caused the birds to die.

The question I have is why would they be flying at night? If you pay attention; you rarely ever see birds (other than owls) flying at night. This is because most have poor eyesight in low light conditions. That's what makes it so strange to me. Not that they could have been bombarded by nature, but the fact that they were all flying at night high enough to "splat" when they hit the ground.

Now there are reports that the same species of bird are falling in Louisiana.

LABARRE — Hundreds of dead and dying birds littered a quarter-mile stretch of highway in Pointe Coupee Parish on Monday as motorists drove over and around them.

State biologists are trying to determine what led to the deaths of the estimated 500 red-winged blackbirds and starlings on La. 1 just down the road from Pointe Coupee Central High School.

The discovery of the dead birds — some of which were lying face down, clumped in groups, while others were face up with their wings outstretched and rigid legs pointing upward — comes just three days after more than 3,000 blackbirds rained down from the sky in Beebe, Ark.

All I have to say is that thousands of birds dying at relatively the same time is definitely strange.

You can't convince me that you wouldn't be a little worried if you saw a scene like the one above in your neighborhood.

Note: You DO NOT need to register to leave a comment.