Scary thought of the day.
1,000 turtle doves falling dead in Italy with strange blue stain on their beaks
Mass winter deaths among spot fish have occurred twice before in the Maryland area - in 1976 and 1980.
The incident is the latest mass animal death to hit the headlines in the last two weeks.
These include:
450 red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings found littering a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
3,000 blackbirds on roofs and roads in the small town of Beebe, Arkansas
Thousands of 'devil crabs' washed up along the Kent coast near Thanet
Thousands of drum fish washed along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River
Two million small fish in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Thousands of dead fish found floating in warm Florida creek
Hundreds of snapper fish found dead in New Zealand
Scores of American Coots found dead on Texas highway bridge
Experts have speculated that New Year fireworks, thunderstorms, cold weather, parasites and even poisoning may be behind the deaths.
But conspiracy theorists have also speculated on the internet that secret government experiments could be behind them, with some even claiming it was a sign of a looming Armageddon at the end of the Mayan calendar next year.
Another theory is that the rapid movement of the Magnetic North Pole towards Russia may have affected the birds' innate navigation systems.
Read more:
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