Science

The Truth About “Mysterious” Mass Bird Deaths

Why they will continue to happen.

More than 1,200 dead seabirds have washed ashore off Washington state and northern California in recent months, the latest large-scale bird deaths to capture headlines. These cases tend to invite speculative (and sometimes conspiratorial) theories, but no matter the cause of death, there’s actually a simple reason behind them. The video above explains the trends behind mass bird deaths in North America and beyond.