Thousands of birds recently dropped dead in areas of Colorado and New Mexico, but researchers say there's more than one factor to blame.
While researchers are still investigating the cause, the sudden appearance of dead birds in Colorado is likely due to the sudden temperature plunge and heavy snowfall observed last week across parts of the state.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife tweeted on Monday that there's also some speculation that high winds and poor air quality could be contributing factors.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, two of the local spots where the dead birds have been widely reported include the Durango and Gunnison areas.
Thousands of dead birds, both resident and migrant, are also being found throughout the state of New Mexico.
"Unexplained songbird mortality has wildlife biologists in New Mexico very concerned," the U.S. Forest Service of Santa Fe National Forest stated in a Facebook post on Friday.
