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Eight thousand dead doves in Italy.

Scrolling down, I'm looking at the picture of the dead starling. It's weird that its mouth is open. usually they do that when they go agonal before they die. So it seems like it wasn't an immediate process. The redwing blackbird has its mouth slightly open, but that looks like it could have happened when it fell. It's the starling that looks like it had at least a minute to consider dying. And look at how its wings are stretched out, too. That's not a quick death; that sort of death in a bird is more a process. I mean, in my experience.

I'm curious about the blue stains on the doves' beaks, too. Obviously that's hypoxia, and that's kind of making me think what I was considering before, which was a toxin, with the clotting.

So I wonder if there is a bacterial toxin that would cause both clotting and hypoxia?

Gosh, I really wish I could take a closer look.

Also, I'm quite freaked by this.

ETA: Actually, the clotting could cause the hypoxia, couldn't it? But again, that would be a process. It'd be weird if they were flying when it happened. A process like that, you'd tend to think the wouldn't get as far as even leaving the ground.

ETA again: If it was a toxin, how the hell did it hit them all at the exact same effing time? Even if they ingested/inhaled it at the same time, their metabolisms would all be slightly different. They wouldn't fall en masse.

more birds

Eight thousand dead doves in Italy.

Scrolling down, I'm looking at the picture of the dead starling. It's weird that its mouth is open. usually they do that when they go agonal before they die. So it seems like it wasn't an immediate process. The redwing blackbird has its mouth slightly open, but that looks like it could have happened when it fell. It's the starling that looks like it had at least a minute to consider dying. And look at how its wings are stretched out, too. That's not a quick death; that sort of death in a bird is more a process. I mean, in my experience.

I'm curious about the blue stains on the doves' beaks, too. Obviously that's hypoxia, and that's kind of making me think what I was considering before, which was a toxin, with the clotting.

So I wonder if there is a bacterial toxin that would cause both clotting and hypoxia?

Gosh, I really wish I could take a closer look.

Also, I'm quite freaked by this.

ETA: Actually, the clotting could cause the hypoxia, couldn't it? But again, that would be a process. It'd be weird if they were flying when it happened. A process like that, you'd tend to think the wouldn't get as far as even leaving the ground.

ETA again: If it was a toxin, how the hell did it hit them all at the exact same effing time? Even if they ingested/inhaled it at the same time, their metabolisms would all be slightly different. They wouldn't fall en masse.