Dead blue tits: conservationists register an unusual number of cases

A mysterious bird extinction is currently occupying the German Nature Conservation Association (Nabu). Conservationists have been registering an unusually high number of dead blue tits for several weeks. In order to find out whether a new bird disease is spreading in Germany, the association asks to report dead and sick birds. Occasionally, great tits or other small songbirds also fell ill, it said.

“The first cases were reported to us from Rheinhessen in Rhineland-Palatinate in mid-March,” said Nabu-Bird protection expert Marius Adrion. The number has now risen to over 150. “So far, the strip from the Westerwald in Rhineland-Palatinate to Central Hesse and western Thuringia has been particularly affected.”

Report dead or sick blue tits

The sick animals can be recognized, among other things, by the fact that “they sit apathetically and fluffed up on the floor and do not flee from people”. Eyes, beaks and parts of the feather dress are often glued together. This picture does not match any known bird disease. Since most of the animals were found near bird feedings, the Nabu advises that food and water should no longer be offered if more than one sick bird is observed in such a place.