Warning: Contains content that some readers may find upsetting
A huge flock of birds can be seen suddenly dying and falling from the sky in bizarre security footage. Watch here:
Last Monday (7 February) a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds were recorded plummeting to the ground in Chihuahua, Mexico.
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In the video, the birds appear to crash down to Earth suddenly and simultaneously, with many taking flight again while others remained on the ground.
Police began receiving reports at around 8.20am of piles of birds strewn across the streets.
A vet was called to assess the dead migratory birds - which head south from Canada during winter - and according to El Heraldo de Chihuahua, they said the birds could have died as a result of inhaling toxic smoke, possibly from a nearby heater.
It is also possible that they had perched on a power line during an overload.
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While the footage is undeniably shocking, there have been numerous reports of similar incidents recently.
Just last week, hundreds of birds were found dead after they fell from the sky in Wales.
The starlings were found between Waterston and Hazelbeach, Pembrokeshire, on Thursday (10 February) evening.
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Pembrokeshire Herald editor Tom Sinclair said it seemed as though the birds were dead before they hit the ground.
According to the BBC, he said: "There were 50 plus birds on the road and you could hear them all in the hedges, squawking and making noises.
"In the first wave people told me the council collected 10 bin bags, and I was there later on so I think quite a few hundred, if not a 1,000 have died.
"I was there at around 11.30pm, they were still falling from the sky. It was as if they were dead before they hit the ground."
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As with the yellow-headed blackbirds in Mexico, it is unclear what caused the mass death.
The RSPCA said it was possible their evening roost had been disturbed, causing them to become disorientated and crash into the ground.
This theory goes against Tom's account of the birds appearing to be dead before hitting the ground.
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He said: "I don't know what happened, really no idea, I can't think it was a bird of prey, they weren't flying and hitting the road, they were falling dead.
"I wondered if they were poisoned, or maybe it was birds who migrate and it was really cold, maybe they froze and died."
A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council said: "Officers attended the site and there were around 200 starlings found dead on the road.
"The authority undertook a clean-up and removed the dead birds from site. There is no clear indication as to the cause of these deaths. We have reported the incident to the Animal and Plant Health Agency."
Topics: World News, Animals, Weird
Jake Massey