Here Come the Birds Again, to Let Villagers Kill Them
Jatinga, Assam (India) :
The Jatinga birds are back once again for their annual journey to heaven as hundreds are 'committing suicide' each night.
The mysterious phenomenon is reappearing these days when the birds appear from nowhere on these misty, cloudy and foggy nights at this hilly place between 1900 hrs and 2200 hrs and simply fly into the source of light and refuses to move away.
From there the local villagers take over. They kill the birds for the meat and despite all the hullabaloos over the decades, the killing of birds has continued.
The phenomenon discovered in the early fifties. But the shocking part is that killing continues unabated. "In fact except a few promotional signboard, there is no machinery to either stop, dissuade or discourage anyone of the villagers," said Anup Biswas, a local journalist.
Here the mist and fog shroud the place from September to November. During these late monsoon months, mysterious behavior of birds takes place.
However, some other conditions are also necessary for the phenomenon to occur. The air must be foggy, cloudy or misty. If there is slight rain, as in our case, it would be even better. The wind must be from south to north. It should be moonless dark nights.
And the best time is between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Curiously, most of the doomed birds do not attempt to fly away after they land near the lights. They look dazed and disheveled, perhaps due to the trauma of the whole shocking experience. Such birds fall easy pray to the villagers.
Oct 04, 2005
NewKerala.com, India UNI
Jatinga, Assam (India) : The Jatinga birds are back once again for their annual journey to heaven as hundreds are 'committing suicide' each night.
The mysterious phenomenon is reappearing these days when the birds appear from nowhere on these misty, cloudy and foggy nights at this hilly place between 1900 hrs and 2200 hrs and simply fly into the source of light and refuses to move away.
From there the local villagers take over. They kill the birds for the meat and despite all the hullabaloos over the decades, the killing of birds has continued.
The phenomenon discovered in the early fifties. But the shocking part is that killing continues unabated. "In fact except a few promotional signboard, there is no machinery to either stop, dissuade or discourage anyone of the villagers," said Anup Biswas, a local journalist.
Here the mist and fog shroud the place from September to November. During these late monsoon months, mysterious behavior of birds takes place.
However, some other conditions are also necessary for the phenomenon to occur. The air must be foggy, cloudy or misty. If there is slight rain, as in our case, it would be even better. The wind must be from south to north. It should be moonless dark nights.
And the best time is between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Curiously, most of the doomed birds do not attempt to fly away after they land near the lights. They look dazed and disheveled, perhaps due to the trauma of the whole shocking experience. Such birds fall easy pray to the villagers.
Oct 04, 2005
NewKerala.com, India UNI
