What Kind Of Beast Can Petrify 100 Starlings In Mid Flight?
- Thread starter common_sense_seeker
- Start date
I couldn't agree with that more. You don't know how many of the little suckers I've terminated on the spot for being unruly.
If it's gas, shouldn't she be facing in the other direction?
Swamp Gas.
Enmos
Valued Senior Member
Ah no. I just can't stand them for what they are meant to do
Har har..
It's a flying fox.
Cute little critters, aren't they?
But starlings don't think so.
Cute little critters, aren't they?
But starlings don't think so.
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No. I disagree. On the surface it may seem like poisoning, but the UK is a nation of animal lovers. There is ZERO possibility that they were government sanctioned widespread poisoning. These birds are in decline, and there would be a public outrage if dead starlings were tested and found to have been culled.
Enmos
Valued Senior Member
Nonsense.
Hmm maybe you're right. The article says:
"Post mortems on the starlings carried out today proved inconclusive.
They were all found to have physical injuries - with most suffering either broken wings or a shattered beak - but no underlying health problems or toxins which could explain their sudden deaths."
But then they quote RSPCA spokesman Helen Cohen:They were all found to have physical injuries - with most suffering either broken wings or a shattered beak - but no underlying health problems or toxins which could explain their sudden deaths."
"Tests were carried out on some of the birds and they were found to have physical injuries but we could find no evidence of any health issues which could explain what had happened."
Not a word about toxins!
Enmos
Valued Senior Member
Alright, I take back the poisoning possibility.
In another article the RSPCA is quoted:
Another article about the causes of decline in Sparrow and Starling populations names the increase of Sparrow-hawks as one of the factors:
So this seems to be a likely explanation (as others already mentioned).
In another article the RSPCA is quoted:
"Our best guess is that this happened because the starlings were trying to escape a predator such as a sparrowhawk and ended up crash-landing."
The Independant: Intrigue soars as 75 starlings fall out of sky
The Independant: Intrigue soars as 75 starlings fall out of sky
Another article about the causes of decline in Sparrow and Starling populations names the increase of Sparrow-hawks as one of the factors:
"An increase in the numbers of sparrowhawks, which were hit by pesticides in the 1970s, is another factor."
BBC News: Sparrows and starlings in decline
BBC News: Sparrows and starlings in decline
So this seems to be a likely explanation (as others already mentioned).
It doesn't really fit though does it? It's the option a human brain will take if the you're not a natural cryptozoologist imo.
Could it have been caused by a tornado?
They are not rare in the UK, we get about 50 a year.
They are usually fairly small, but occasionally cause damage.
Usually they are reported as springing up unexpectedly, the disappearing just as quickly.
Sometimes Tornadoes can pick up animals from one area and deposit them in another.
@Enmos. I don't see how Sparrowhawks could be an explanation. The birds would scatter rather than fall together.
Birds sometimes crash into windows, but crash landing to get away from a predator? I doubt it.
RSPCA, if that's your best explanation don't bother.
For the same reason it can't be any type of animal, dilozoological or otherwise.
They are not rare in the UK, we get about 50 a year.
They are usually fairly small, but occasionally cause damage.
Usually they are reported as springing up unexpectedly, the disappearing just as quickly.
Sometimes Tornadoes can pick up animals from one area and deposit them in another.
@Enmos. I don't see how Sparrowhawks could be an explanation. The birds would scatter rather than fall together.
Birds sometimes crash into windows, but crash landing to get away from a predator? I doubt it.
RSPCA, if that's your best explanation don't bother.
For the same reason it can't be any type of animal, dilozoological or otherwise.
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If so, then a tornado would have been reported. Therefore the idea can be ruled out.
Depends on whether anyone saw it or not.
They aren't like Kansas Tornadoes.
From start to finish they may only take a few seconds.
Long enough to whip round a flock of starlings and plant them in a garden.
Perhaps just the starlings saw it.
They aren't like Kansas Tornadoes.
From start to finish they may only take a few seconds.
Long enough to whip round a flock of starlings and plant them in a garden.
Perhaps just the starlings saw it.
Nah, it just doesn't fit I'm affraid.
OK then.
Any particle colliders in the area?
I doubt it.
There probably isn't even a post box.
Report from the Somerset Times.
The deaths all occurred at the same time, and the bodies of the birds covered an area 12 feet across.
All the birds had blood coming out of their beaks, and their feet curled up as if in agony.
The birds all fell in the front garden of Julie Knight, who lives in the village.
She returned home at 4.15pm on Sunday to find the tiny feathered bodies in her front garden.
She said: "One of my neighbours saw them. They seemed to just fall out of the sky. About 70 were dead straight away.
"We called out the RSPCA, and their animal welfare officer took a few away in cages and euthanised the rest. There must have been over 100 birds in total. I've been a country girl all my life and I've never seen anything like it."
So, the birds were seen to fall, by Mrs Knight's neighbour.
This rules out any flying beast I would say.
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Dude 'Flash Forward' is a Sci-fi TV series.
Just an idea, maybe they were sitting on a power line (as they love to do) and there was some kind of short circuit or two wires connecting and they got zapped en masse.