More Than 50 Birds Mysteriously ‘Explode’ in California

Alarmed animal lovers are demanding answers as dead birds repeatedly plummet from the sky, with the carcasses falling on a quiet residential street.

More than 50 dead birds have been removed from Bernhard Avenue in Richmond, California, since February, according to reports. Several witnesses describe hearing a loud crack before the birds plunge to the ground, and one homeowner described how the creatures “explode” on impact in “traumatic” scenes.

Many of the homeowners fear a power line running across the street could be malfunctioning and electrocuting the birds, but utility company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has pointed the finger at a human aggressor, saying it is more likely that a shooter armed with a BB gun is behind the birds’ deaths.

Newsweek has reached out to PG&E by email for comment.

Birds on power line — Starlings and wood pigeons pictured sitting on power lines in Kent, United Kingdom, in October 2024.

Tim Graham/Getty Images

Why It Matters

The bizarre mystery surrounding the birds’ deaths has raised concerns about avian health, while some residents are concerned about the safety of the electricity cables. If the power company’s theory of a human attacker is correct, it raises the specter of animal cruelty by a suspect armed with some sort of weapon roaming the streets.

What To Know

One resident caught an incident on their Ring doorbell camera and it was aired by local news channel ABC 7. The footage captured a loud cracking sound just as a bird in mid-flight above roofs and power cables suddenly fell to the ground.

Since February, dozens of dead birds have been discovered on the street, with five killed in just one day.

Neighbors made signs warning people and urging others to report the incident if they spotted a dead bird. They also called PG&E, which reportedly visited the site to check the power line.

California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife is also said to have collected some of the dead birds for analysis but did not believe they had been electrocuted.

What People Are Saying

Resident Heather Jones: “It’s a mystery. I think that’s how we all feel is [that] it’s inexplicable.”

Resident Mark Hoehner, who witnessed a bird death: “It sounded like a firecracker, and a black [bird]—I think it was a starling—just plummeted to the ground.”

Resident Maximilian Bolling told ABC 7: “So when they land, and it happens, they just quickly explode and it’s just really violent.” The sight was “very traumatic” to witness.

Pacific Gas & Electric in a statement to ABC 7: “[The Department of] Fish and Wildlife shared that the birds show no evidence of electrocution, and that their deaths were caused by trauma, potentially from a pellet, BB gun, or a slingshot […] PG&E does not believe that there was an issue with our electrical equipment and agrees that these birds were not electrocuted.”