Birds Are Exploding in a California Town — Here’s Why Experts Suspect Foul Play

A California town has found itself in the middle of a mystery after more than a dozen birds appear to have exploded. The birds have little in common — the deceased includes everything from starlings to mourning doves — other than their injuries, and neighbors are demanding answers after finding more than a dozen birds at a time with no real idea of what is happening to them.

In fact, the uncertainty has become widespread enough to get the authorities involved, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife Health Lab has even performed necropsies to see if they can determine what is happening to the exploding birds of California.

Intrigued? Keep reading to learn what they've discovered, including what locals believe is happening to the birds in their community.

According to ABC News, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife Health Lab has performed a necropsy — which is the name used to describe an autopsy that is performed on an animal — and discovered injuries that appear to have been sustained from being shot with some sort of small weapon, like a pellet or BB gun.

But, authorities aren't ready to definitively name the cause of death for these birds, thanks in small part to video footage that seems inconsistent with their findings.

According to ABC News, several residents of the Bay Area community, located just outside of San Francisco, have reported seeing the birds explode after sitting on powerlines. One person even captured an incident on their security camera, which featured a loud popping sound before the bird fell to its death.

In other areas around town, people say they've found multiple birds lying dead in and around their yards, and even in the middle of the street.

One resident told ABC News that he witnessed several of the birds die himself, telling the publication that they were all perfectly fine and sitting along a powerline before the unexpected happened.

"So when they land and it happens, they just quickly explode and it's really violent," he said before adding that he and some other people in his neighborhood had counted 13 dead birds.

As the mystery continues to go on, so does the speculation. Many residents of the area have concluded that the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) must somehow be involved, since so many birds were seen perched on powerlines before falling to their death.

However, a PG&E representative denied those rumors when speaking with ABC News, and instead informed the publication that an internal investigation uncovered no connection between the exploding birds and the power company.

For now, locals just want whatever is happening to stop, calling the ongoing deaths "super traumatic" for residents. Hopefully officials can figure out what's going on soon so that they can prevent any further deaths from happening as a result of whatever is going on.