Well, my theory is that birds are naturally bouyant. They just flap their wings for effect. When they die, they just slingshot on out into outerspace. Neil Armstrong didn’t mention it in his reports, but the surface of the Moon is just peppered with dead, frozen birds. 
I think Colibri would agree that birds are naturally buoyant, since they have hollow bones. Soar like the eagle, and that what an eagle will often do, as well as other birds, especially the larger ones: soar on the updrafts since they are buoyant. Now, if a really giant reverse windshear (or updraft) comes along, they may get lifted to the moon, if it weren’t for the fact that the winds would end much sooner, not to mention the atmosphere.
I have pet birds. When birds are sick, injured, or otherwise not at their best they don’t run around much, they sit on a perch looking penalized. If they really feel awful they hide.
Yes, a starving bird may make one last desparate hunt for food - but it will do so one the ground, walking, not flying.
I suspect ill/injured wild birds are either eaten before they finish dying or hole up somewhere and die unseen.
“But wouldnt they make that last effort in search of food?”
No they just die on the perch. It’s the same reason why it is just as uncommon for elderly humans to pass away halfway to the grocery store.
You’re concerned about where birds go to die, but are not concerned about elephants? There are a lot of huge animals out there. Granted there aren’t many elephants in this country, but why isn’t Africa or India littered with them? The carrion eaters there must do a fantastic job.
In Richton Park, Illinois, there’s an railroad overpass that many birds make nests in every year. It is not unusual to see several dead birds on the sidewalk under the over overpass.
My theory: Birds go back to their nest to die.
Aaron Ackerson
http://www.mp3.com/Aaron_Ackerson
If you were old enough to have listened to the Smilin Ed McConnell show as a kid, you’d know that elephants go to a secret hiding place to die.
**Plunk your magic twanger, FROGGIE!
BOOOONNG
HIYA, FOLKS, HIYA**
Two words: Spontaneous combustion. I rest my case.
You could ask the very same question about virtually every common wild animals. Where are all the dead squirrels/mice/chipmunks, etc.?
Fact is, small animals like this decompose very rapidly, usually within a week or so. Add to this carrion-eating birds, animals and insects, and the carcass just won’t stick around more than a couple days in the open.
As an addendum to this thread, (I don’t want to call it a hijack) aren’t you now supposed to report any dead birds that you see to your local public health authorities for West Nile testing?
USDA plans to poison two million Red-winged Blackbirds in order to protect the sunflower seed crop. Besides the targeted Blackbirds, 86 other species of bird will also die a lingering death, including several species of already-declining grassland birds.
The address of the Secretary of the USDA (email address)
agsec@usda.gov
Ann Veneman, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th & Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
If you are outraged at this, please out your rage to the Secretary.
This thread is not for debating USDA policy, no matter how strongly you may disagree with it. Please feel free to start a thread on this subject in the appropriate forum.
bibliophage
moderator, GQ
As far as Florida is concerned (not sure about the rest of the country), the health department is looking for any reports of crows, jays and raptors (hawks, eagles, falcons, etc), since they are the first to show any evidence of the the diseases (not only West Nile virus, but also Eastern Equine Encephilitis [EEE] and the St. Louis strain). They have asked the public to call in with the location of any of the above species that are dead and/or dying (the Orange County Health Department has a person who will collect bird bodies for testing).
I’ve spoken with the OCHD rep, and he said that mass avian die-offs are not usually indicative of West Nile or EEE. They are more often cases of botulism (especially in cases of dabbling ducks and waterfowl stirring up the bottoms of lakes) or exposure to pesticides (misapplication in a concentrated area).
Since I do not have other state health department guidelines at my disposal, my advice is to contact your local health department and your state wildlife department for guides on what types of birds should be brought in for testing. A local federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitator should have that information also.
The State of New Jersey tests only American and Fish Crows and raptors. It’s really too bad that more species aren’t being tested considering what peole have turned in previously: West Nile Positive Species. I generated this list primarily from species tested in New York the first year, when they tested anything that the public found.
State guidelines for dealing with suspected WN avian cases can be found (for the most part) here:
http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/disease.htm
I think screech-owl is right in mass mortality being associated with causes (poisonings, avian illnesses) than WN. But, ironically, in the summer of 1999, I got a call from someone in NY asking about the recent report of dying crows. There had been a case of pigeon poisonings and I just assumed…boy, was I wrong. Damned embarrassing for someone working with avian vectors of arboviruses. And just to clarify - these crows did not die in one big mass but they did start popping up quite noticeably. A crow laying on the front lawn is hard to miss.