The illness was initially reported in late May in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. More recently, reports have come in from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.
Birds like common grackles, blue jays, European starlings, American robins, house sparrows, Carolina wrens, and other songbirds have been affected.
Sick birds may present neurological symptoms like dizziness, tremors, or falling over. Their eyes may be swollen and have discharge or crust on them.
Though researchers have been studying the birds to find out what exactly the illness is, they don't have an answer yet.
They have ruled out a few common pathogens, like Salmonella and the avian influenza virus, both of which have not been detected in the sick birds.
There is an investigation to see whether Brood X cicadas are somehow involved with the illness, but it seems unlikely that there is a connection, ornithologist Allysin Gillet told Indiana Public Media.
There is an investigation to see whether Brood X cicadas are somehow involved with the illness, but it seems unlikely that there is a connection, ornithologist Allysin Gillet told Indiana Public Media.
"There are so many things out there that could possibly be causing this," Gillet said. "I think mystery is a good term to use for this because we really need to look at all the different angles of this disease." READ MORE
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