Dead birds found in Sweden
January 06, 2011
STOCKHOLM: In a week that saw unexplained massive bird deaths in the southern United States, up to 100 birds were found lying in a snow-covered street in Sweden Wednesday, officials said.
“Most were dead,” Christer Olofsson of rescue services in the southwestern town of Falkoeping said of the 50 to 100 jackdaw birds, a type of crow.
Ornithologist Anders Wirdheim said the find was surprising.
“This is unusual,” he told tabloid Aftonbladet, which posted online a reader’s photo of dozens of black birds littering a snow-covered road.
“They are probably jackdaws. They spend the winter in large flocks. If they are exposed to disturbances, they can become so stressed that they fly themselves to death,” he said.
Olofsson told AFP the birds were first spotted around midnight by a police patrol, and that five had been taken in for analysis.
“Most were dead,” Christer Olofsson of rescue services in the southwestern town of Falkoeping said of the 50 to 100 jackdaw birds, a type of crow.
Ornithologist Anders Wirdheim said the find was surprising.
“This is unusual,” he told tabloid Aftonbladet, which posted online a reader’s photo of dozens of black birds littering a snow-covered road.
“They are probably jackdaws. They spend the winter in large flocks. If they are exposed to disturbances, they can become so stressed that they fly themselves to death,” he said.
Olofsson told AFP the birds were first spotted around midnight by a police patrol, and that five had been taken in for analysis.
