In the summer of 1961, flocks of disoriented seabirds began plunging toward buildings in Monterey Bay, Calif. This bizarre incident served as the inspiration for The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1963 thriller.1 Although wildlife "mass deaths" are not particularly rare-the federal government receives between 160 and 200 reports of such events each year-even relatively minor incidents often generate substantial media coverage.2 For example, after thousands of birds in central Arkansas died in a mass death event tied to New Year's Eve fireworks on Dec. 31, 2010, media outlets were quick to report on the death of "about 100 blackbirds" in the same area on Dec. 31, 2011.3 Other events are more severe. In one recent incident, several thousand migratory birds crashed into snow-covered landmarks in St.
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