Date: 3/13/26 7:06 pm From: Ajit Antony <aiantony521...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] A dead starling hanging from an electrical wire by its claws
You may be on the right track Preston. The red stuff on the back of its
head could be blood from a pellet shot.
I found this on the internet:
Automatic Perching Reflex: Birds have a "tendon locking mechanism." When
they land, the weight of their body causes tendons in their legs to pull
their toes shut around the perch. This grip is passive and automatic,
meaning if a bird dies suddenly while perching (e.g., from a heart attack
or a lightning strike), its feet may remain locked onto the wire even after
death.
External Trauma: Recent studies have found that a significant number of
birds found dead near power lines-up to 66% in some areas--were actually
victims of illegal shooting rather than electrical accidents. A bird shot
while perching might have its feet "lock" onto the wire as it expires,
leaving it hanging.
I also found a normal identical image to the one I posted except for what
looked like blood on the back of its head, on a Facebook post by someone
from Weld county who has seen the same bird with its talons locked on a
wire for the past 3 years!
*Starling Control Measures:* Weld County, Colorado, has seen incidents
involving the use of USDA-approved pesticides (such as DRC-1339) to manage
starling populations at feedlots. While these chemicals are designed to
kill, the birds may be found days later and sometimes die on-site,
potentially leading to unusual, isolated scenes.
To Greg:
My query to Google AI was not a photograph, it was a description of a "dead
starling hanging by its talons from a wire."
So it would not have considered the possibility of blood on the back of its
head when the possibility of avian flu was suggested.
Ajit Antony
Central Park, Denver
On Fri, Mar 13, 2026, 11:56 AM Preston Sowell <preston.sowell...>
wrote:
> This could also be from a kid with a pellet gun. I witnessed this happen
> with a Starling when I was a boy.
>
> Preston
>
> On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 7:02 PM aiantony <aiantony...> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> We were leading a DFO trip to the raptor alley west of DIA, when we came
>> upon a curious sight. We saw a blob hanging from a wire, and when we looked
>> carefully with binoculars it was a bird hanging by its locked claws!
>>
>> It seems to be a starling with its bright yellow pointed bill facing
>> right. Is that clotted blood at the back of its head?
>>
>> We've never seen such a thing, and wondered how it had died.
>>
>> It couldn't have been electrocuted, as it would have needed to touch
>> another wire or the ground.
>>
>> If it had been predated upon by a raptor, say, it would have been taken
>> away to be eaten on a perch. There was no other wire close by.
>>
>> Has anyone seen anything like this and does anyone have any reasonable
>> explanation for this.
>>
>> Google AI suggested avian ‘flu as a possibility.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Ajit and Liza Antony
>>
>> Central Park, Denver.
>>
>> Sent from my Galaxy
>>
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>
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