Indianapolis Star
Cardinals, robins, blue jays, grackles, brown-headed cowbirds and European starlings are getting sick and dying across Indiana, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources isn t sure why.
As a precaution, DNR is now asking all Hoosiers to remove their bird feeders.
The birds which have been found in 50 counties, including St. Joseph, Elkhart, LaPorte, LaGrange, Kosciusko and Lake showed eye swelling, crusty discharge and neurological signs of illness.
Samples sent to the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory tested negative for avian influenza and the West Nile virus.
Evie Kirkwood, a naturalist and retired St. Joseph County Parks director, explained that the state is asking people to take down feeders because the disease could be spreading where birds are congregating.