Analysis of Mass Bird Mortality in October, 1954

  • Johnston D
  • Haines T
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Abstract

IN recent years there have come to the attention of ornithologists an increasing number of instances of mass bird mortalities in the east- ern and southern United States. These instances have occurred at airport ceilometers, radio and television antennae, and tall buildings, and have been associated primarily with nocturnal autumnal migra- tion. Various climatological, biological, and physical aspects of the mortalities have been investigated by ornithologists, especially in Tennessee, where instances of mass mortalities in the autumn have been more frequent than in other states (see Howell et al., 1954). The most noticeable and widespread series of mortalities occurred in the fall of 1954 when, between October 5 and 8, twenty-five instances were reported from New York to the South Atlantic states; many of them claimed prominent places in newspaper and magazine accounts. Although these unprecedented mortalities are in a sense unfortunate, a compilation of the records and analysis of the data will help to sup- plement our present knowledge of nocturnal autumnal migration, inasmuch as each occurrence is a small sample, literally snatched from the air, from a flock of migrants. Furthermore, the largest kill in recorded history occurred at Warner Robins Air Force Base near Macon, Georgia, during this time, and a detailed study of this event has furnished intensive qualitative and quantitative data, thus com- plementing the extensive data revealed by a survey of the total mortality incidents over the eastern and southern states during this period.

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APA

Johnston, D. W., & Haines, T. P. (1957). Analysis of Mass Bird Mortality in October, 1954. The Auk, 74(4), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.2307/4081744

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