After the rains of the monsoon season have subsided, thousands of disoriented birds descend onto the small village of Jatinga, India.
For years, a myth persisted that the birds were committing suicide. Perfectly healthy and typically young, these birds were believed to be plummeting from the sky and straight into the ground by choice. Native or migratory, it didn’t matter, each September they were coming to Jatinga to die.
Yet, it wasn’t the fall that killed them. A closer look at the phenomenon helps to reveal some interesting truths.
The birds weren’t intentionally plummeting to the earth; they were disoriented from dangerous winds at their flight altitude and, becoming attracted to the lights of the village, landed there in vast numbers.