Starling deaths in yard 'a mystery'

TAUNTON, England, March 10 (UPI) -- Animal experts in Britain said they have no explanation for why more than 100 starlings dropped dead from the sky onto the garden of a home.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals said the birds, which had blood oozing from their beaks and claws, fell on a 12-foot-wide patch of garden next to a Somerset County home Sunday night, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

Helen Cohen, an RSPCA spokeswoman, said the cause of the avian deaths is "still a mystery."

"We were informed that a lady had reported many dead or dying starlings on her property. This is obviously an extremely unusual occurrence," she said. "Tests were carried out on some of the birds and they were found to have physical injuries but we could find no evidence of any health issues which could explain what had happened.

"The only possible explanation we can think of is that something has caused the flock to suddenly change their direction of flight and caused them to hit the ground," Cohen said. "It could have been that a bird of prey could have scared them into doing this, but it is still a mystery really."