Arkansas sees in New Year with feathery Hitchcock-style shock

by Steven Mostyn - Jan 3 2011, 08:59

The people of Arkansas suffered something of an eerie New Year this weekend when a massive flock of more than 1,000 dead birds began raining down from the skies just before midnight on December 31.

According to wildlife experts from the Arkansas Game and Fishing Commission, the sleepy town of Beebe was the focal point for the mass death, with blackbirds piling up on its streets and in residential gardens.

Officials investigating the unusual avian event have said they are currently baffled as to the cause, but hope physical examinations on around 70 of the birds will reveal definitive answers.

In the meantime, speculative explanations have been offered up by some members of the scientific community, including claims of a high-altitude hailstorm, a massive lightning strike, or sudden cardiac failure caused by the shock of exploding fireworks.

Other opinion suggests the deaths could be associated with a spate of tornadoes that tore through Arkansas and surrounding states on New Year’s Eve.

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