In the northern Mexican city of Cuauhtémoc it was raining hundreds of yellow-headed blackbirds that fell from the sky, some of them dying, in mysterious circumstances.
The footage from a security camera, taken on the morning on February 7, shows a flock of migratory birds descending on to houses like a cloud of black smoke. Most birds managed to fly off but subsequent footage shows carcasses of the distinctive black and yellow birds scattered on streets of the city.
Why they died remains unclear and experts are weighing in on the probable cause, offering differing theories.
One veterinarian said it was most likely the flock was “flushed” from above by a predatory bird swooping down to make a catch.
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Another suggested blame for the incident could lie with high levels of pollution, driven by the use of wood-burning heaters, agrochemicals, and cold weather in the area. Still another suggestion was that the birds were electrocuted while resting on power lines. There was speculation on social media that it could have been caused by 5G technology.
But Dr Richard Broughton, an ecologist with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said that although he could not see a raptor in the footage, he was 99% sure it was caused by a predatory bird. A predator could have made the birds swirl tightly and driven them towards the ground, with higher birds forcing lower ones to crash into the buildings or the ground.
“This looks like a raptor like a peregrine or hawk has been chasing a flock, like they do with murmurating starlings, and they have crashed as the flock was forced low,” he said. “You can see that they act like a wave at the beginning, as if they are being flushed from above.”
Whatever the cause, the dramatic incident spooked the residents.
