Security footage captured the moment a flock of yellow-headed blackbirds suddenly fell from the sky on a road in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua - but the reason behind the mysterious fall remains unclear.
The Spanish-language book El Heraldo de Chihuahua reported that several dead birds were discovered as early as 7 February by residents of the city of Cuautémoc. According to the newspaper, local police were called to the area, who saw dozens of dead birds on sidewalks and streets.
Alejandra Herlinda Iglesias Gonzalez told Storyful that two of her relatives were among the bird watchers in the street. Police spoke to the family and used footage from Gonzalez's security camera to trace the moment the birds crashed through the sky.
The video, which has since been shared widely on social media, shows clouds of blackbirds suddenly falling to the ground. Some seem to have survived the fall and were seen flying, but many others were left lying dead on the streets of the city.
El Heraldo de Chihuahua reported that a veterinarian who responded to the scene at the request of officials indicated that the birds may have died as a result of toxic fumes from nearby heaters or overloading of power lines. But a specific cause was not immediately determined.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, yellow-headed blackbirds typically spend the summer in west-central America and Canada, and migrate in the winter from California to Texas and south to Mexico and Central America in the western US.
A similarly shocking incident happened in Pennsylvania in early 2020. Birds suddenly fell from the sky in Bucks County, which one witness described as "something straight out of a movie".