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Modern Mysteries

Mystery of incident that inspired 'The Birds'

By T.K. Randall
December 31, 2011 · Comment icon 17 comments

Image Credit: CC 3.0 Vera Buhl
A mysterious incident in 1961 that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's famous film may have finally been solved.
California's Monterey Bay was the scene of a bizarre incident in 1961 when a number of seabirds rammed themselves in to buildings for reasons that eluded researchers for decades. Scientists however believe they have finally solved the mystery, suggesting that the birds had feasted on contaminated fish which poisoned them and resulted in severe disorientation.
A final mystery surrounding the work of film legend Alfred Hitchcock— what triggered the crazed bird flocks that helped inspire his 1963 thriller The Birds— appears solved by scientists.


Source: USA Today | Comments (17)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #8 Posted by Miketar 13 years ago
Finder of Lost Things.... He could of known about both. Just sayin'.
Comment icon #9 Posted by BaneSilvermoon 13 years ago
Finder of Lost Things.... He could of known about both. Just sayin'. That's exactly what the article said too. it's even in the quote of the OP. The avian incidents sparked local visitor Hitchcock's interest, along with a story about spooky bird behavior by British writer Daphne du Maurier.
Comment icon #10 Posted by Finder of Lost Things 13 years ago
My apologies! I mis-read.
Comment icon #11 Posted by ...:::*ArorA*:::... 13 years ago
i hate birds and everything about them! my greatest fear! i watched birds when i was around 5 or 6 for the first time and scared myself beyond. it seems as thought they always smack into my car while im driving like literally into my windscreen!!! i've hit 3 birds in the last 2 weeks! they're just out to attack me
Comment icon #12 Posted by jules99 13 years ago
i hate birds and everything about them! my greatest fear! i watched birds when i was around 5 or 6 for the first time and scared myself beyond. it seems as thought they always smack into my car while im driving like literally into my windscreen!!! i've hit 3 birds in the last 2 weeks! they're just out to attack me As long as your hitting pigeons and indian minors I dont care. Lay off the australian native birds though pls.. Our roads take a shocking toll on wildlife, its just a sad thing.
Comment icon #13 Posted by Abramelin 13 years ago
The Birds was a good film, the ending was **** though They originally wanted a different ending: Still, I do like that final scene:
Comment icon #14 Posted by Abramelin 13 years ago
i hate birds and everything about them! my greatest fear! i watched birds when i was around 5 or 6 for the first time and scared myself beyond. it seems as thought they always smack into my car while im driving like literally into my windscreen!!! i've hit 3 birds in the last 2 weeks! they're just out to attack me You wouldn't like my blog then? http://kromakhy.blogspot.com/
Comment icon #15 Posted by ...:::*ArorA*:::... 13 years ago
You wouldn't like my blog then? http://kromakhy.blogspot.com/ ohhh my! i dont want to even open you blog!
Comment icon #16 Posted by ...:::*ArorA*:::... 13 years ago
As long as your hitting pigeons and indian minors I dont care. Lay off the australian native birds though pls.. Our roads take a shocking toll on wildlife, its just a sad thing. For goodness sake Jules! as if i want to be hitting bird anyway! they cost me bloody $500 per windscreen!
Comment icon #17 Posted by jules99 13 years ago
For goodness sake Jules! as if i want to be hitting bird anyway! they cost me bloody $500 per windscreen! Crikey: Ive never had a bird smash my windscreen....or is it emus that your hitting? Anyway the pink Galahs can be a bit of a worry when you drive past a flock and they all take off and then swoop back at you. I had the drivers side window down once and still cant figure out how I didnt end up with a dozen in the car with me.. Crested pigeons are funny, I had one actually running and looking back at me as I moved my car forward out of a park..as I accelerated the daft thing ran faster, lik... [More]


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