Dead AR Birds Show Blunt Trauma

Arkansas’ dead bird mystery is one step closer to being solved: The thousands of birds that mysteriously fell to earth just before midnight on New Year’s Eve likely died from massive trauma. The preliminary report by the Livestock and Poultry Commission says the red-winged blackbirds and starlings showed signs of trauma, blood clots in the body cavity, and lots of internal bleeding—though it’s not clear whether the trauma is due to something they struck in the air or to the force of hitting the ground. An ornithologist for the game and fish commission says this sort of event isn’t unusual, and is often caused by lightning or high-altitude hail. Officials also speculated that fireworks might be to blame.

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