The Nation - News from Jan. 2, 1989

Hundreds of dead birds found along a three-quarter mile stretch of country road near Austin, Tex., may have been poisoned by a pesticide or other chemical, a biologist said. Area residents first noticed the dead birds Saturday. Hundreds of birds were visible from the road, flapping on the ground or dangling from tree limbs. Hundreds more were dead in fields. The types included brown-headed cowbirds, Brewer’s blackbirds, redwing blackbirds, Eastern meadowlarks, mourning doves, killdeer and a marsh hawk that died after feeding on a dying cowbird. Jack Ralph, a contaminants biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said he suspected poisoning, possibly from a type of herbicide, pesticide or related toxin. “As yet, we can’t determine whether this is a natural or man-made event,” Ralph said. He gathered several birds for laboratory analysis and said test results will be available in about a week.