Birds on acid

Sunday, June 25, 2006
08:20 PM

Birds on acid: "David Pescovitz:
Why have birds in Huntington Beach, California been flipping out over the last week? On Thursday, a pelican flew right through a car windshield (it lived). Meanwhile, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center picked up three birds that we're apparently acting confused and fielded calls about sixteen more. Turns out, these birds may have domoic acid poisoning, the same illness that may have caused the 1961 northern California bird invasion that inspired Hithcock. From the Los Angeles Times:

Although toxicology tests aren't complete (there are no bird breathalyzers), such behavior usually signals domoic acid poisoning from eating algae, said Lisa Birkle, assistant wildlife director at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, which is caring for the pelicans...



According to news reports, thousands of befuddled birds rained down on Northern California towns in August 1961, slamming into buildings and even pecking eight humans...



Nobody is predicting a Hitchcockian invasion here, but Birkle urged Southern California residents to be on the lookout for pelicans acting disoriented or turning up in unusual locations.

Link (Thanks, Mark Pescovitz!)

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(Via Boing Boing.)