5,000 blackbirds fall from the sky

ARKANSAS: Game officials in Arkansas are still investigating and trying to figure out why a huge number of birds simple seemed to fall out of the sky just as the world was about to ring in 2011.

Officials announced that they would start testing the birds this week, most likely on Monday. Most of the birds died when they fell from the sky. The area where the 5,000 blackbirds fell was about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock. The bird carcasses were found in about a one-mile square area.

According to game officials, reports started coming in about birds falling from the sky. As various officials arrived in the area, birds were still falling from the sky. One official stated he personally collected about 65 birds.

Officials went on to explain that they did a search from the air to see how far the area in which the birds fell was. No bird carcasses were found outside the one-mile square radius.

Some bird experts say that there is no cause for alarm. They stated that such falls are not as unusual as many might think and are often caused by a lightning strike or high-altitude hail. The area where the bird fell did have a strong thunderstorm move through the area just before the reports of the birds falling started coming in.

Some other theories are that fireworks in the area might have caused severe stress in the birds. There was, apparently, a large fireworks display in the area just before the birds fell. Several biologists have confirmed that they believe either weather or stress were the most likely causes.

The birds will be studied by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission along with the National Wildlife Health Center located in Wisconsin. Officials say that results of the necropsies will likely be available by the end of the week.