Cicadas may be connected to bird mortality, ecologist says.
'It’s still too soon to say what has caused a mass mortality of several bird species in the eastern U.S. over the last month or two. But a bird ecologist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center told NPR on Monday that the recent emergence of Brood X cicadas may be involved.
Reports of large numbers of dead and sick birds first came to light in late May in Washington, D.C. The birds that were alive were often blind with crusty eyes and were disoriented or shaking.
The most reported species have been Blue Jays, Common Grackles, European Starlings, American Robins, as well as Carolina Wrens, Gray Catbirds, House Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, and Northern Flickers.
The Smithsonian’s Brian Evans told NPR’s Ari Shapiro that more than 600 birds have been brought to wildlife rehab centers in the D.C. area. And he noted that number is “a poor representation of the total number of birds impacted.”'>>>
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