Why are droves of crows dying in Missouri? ‘Unusual occurrence’ sparks investigation

Crows have been dropping dead in and around St. Louis recently, prompting speculation over the cause and spurring an investigation by Missouri officials.

Massive flocks of the birds have been hanging out in downtown St. Louis for weeks, centering on the federal courthouse and nearby park, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, comparing the daily scene to the 1963 horror classic “The Birds.”

While the birds haven’t coordinated an attack on the city, they have been a noisy nuisance that coats the surrounding area in poop, outlets report. But more recently they’ve been dying, suddenly and mysteriously, and in large enough numbers that many have taken notice.

“It is a bit of an unusual occurrence and we are investigating it,” Lucas Bond, communications manager with the Missouri Department of Conservation, said in an emailed statement.

Estimates on the number of crows deaths range to 150 or more, some outlets report.

At least 36 dead crows were found outside the downtown courthouse this week, local station KTVI reported on Feb. 16, and another 50 at Creve Coeur Lake, in west St. Louis.

A worker cleaning up crow corpses downtown told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he and other staff have been picking them up for over a week.

“Some days it’s five or 10, other days more than 20,” he said, adding that he’s been “Googling” the issue to try and figure out what could be causing it.

The birds don’t show any external wounds or obvious signs of trauma, KTVI reported.

Some have suggested that the crows are being poisoned, pointing to “suspicious corn feed” in the area.

An outbreak of disease is another possibility, executive director of the World Bird Sanctuary, Roger Holloway, told TV station KSDK.

“If there is a virus or a bacteria of some kind, that would spread more quickly,” Holloway said. “Just like the pandemic, when we were close together, we knew that was a better chance for the virus to spread among us.”

Missouri officials have collected several of the birds for testing.

“There are many potential causes, so we can’t speculate on exactly what has caused this until we get the tests back,” Bond said in a statement. “Right now we are unsure when those tests will be back, hopefully sooner than later.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Why are droves of crows dying in Missouri? ‘Unusual occurrence’ sparks investigation."