4 and 20 blackbirds, and 4,000, dead in the sky

BEEBE, Ark. (AP) — Celebratory fireworks likely sent thousands of discombobulated blackbirds into such a tizzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other before plummeting to their deaths in central Arkansas, scientists say. Still, officials acknowledge it’s unlikely they’ll ever pinpoint a cause with certainty.

So for the small town of Beebe, Ark., where New Year’s revelers spent the holiday weekend cleaning up between 4,000 and 5,000 dead red-winged blackbirds, The Mystery of Why the Birds Fell Out of the Sky remains unsolved.

Some speculated that a bout of bad weather was to blame. Others said one confused bird could have led the group in a fatal plunge. A few spooked schoolkids even guessed that the birds had committed mass suicide.

“There was probably some physical reason, but I doubt anyone will ever know what it was,” said Thurman Booth, the state’s wildlife services director.

The birds were the second mass wildlife death in Arkansas in recent days. Last week, about 83,000 dead and dying drum fish washed up along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River, about 100 miles west of Beebe. Wildlife officials say the fish deaths are not related to the dead birds, and that because mainly one species of fish was affected, it is likely they were stricken by an illness. Full test results could take up to a month.

Some 360 miles to the south of Beebe, Louisiana state biologists were investigating a similar bird die-off. The Advocate reported that about 500 red-winged blackbirds and starlings fell from the sky Monday in Point Coupee Parish, near the city of Labarre. It was not immediately clear if the mysterious mass bird deaths were linked.