The birds of Jatinga
A village in Assam where birds fly into the lights on dark autumn nights and many die. The place is called a bird suicide spot; ornithologists offer other explanations.
Jatinga is a village in Dima Hasao district, Assam. Atlas Obscura describes birds returning every year to die in one small strip of land about 1,500 metres long and 200 metres wide.
Wikipedia lists several explanations. The ornithologist Anwaruddin Choudhury concluded that strong winds disturb the birds at their roost, that they fly toward lights looking for refuge, and that local people kill or injure them there. Another theory says migrating birds steer by the moon, so on the moonless autumn nights common at Jatinga they follow artificial lights instead. A third points to disorientation from altitude, fast winds and fog. Atlas Obscura adds a proposal that the region's weather changes the magnetic qualities of underground water.
The Assam Tribune says Jatinga has a worldwide reputation as the place where birds die by suicide. In a report from PTI, Choudhury said fewer birds were arriving and fewer were being killed by villagers, and the paper suggested Jatinga might lose that label.
"Theories abound as to why such deaths occur, most involving the artificial lights in the village. Anwaruddin Choudhury concluded that the birds are disturbed by high velocity winds at their roost. The disturbed birds then fly towards lights, seeking refuge; deaths occur when they are killed or injured by locals.[24] Another theory is that the birds rely on the moon for guidance while migrating; on moonless nights, common in Jatinga in autumn, they mistakenly follow artificial lights, again bringing them to their doom.[8] Still another theory, similar to Choudhury's, is that the birds become disoriented from the high altitude and high speed winds, combined with the widespread fog.[22]"
- Jatinga bird deaths, Atlas Obscura
- Birds decreasing in suicide spot Jatinga, The Assam Tribune