Jatinga
On foggy autumn nights, birds fly out of the dark towards the village lights and drop to the ground.
What was reported
In the hill village of Jatinga, on dark, foggy nights roughly between September and November, birds fly towards lights after sunset and come down dazed. For years the village was described in the press as the place where birds come to die.
Villagers once believed the birds were sent from the sky, and many were caught for food.
Explanations offered
Ornithologists think the birds, many of them young, are pushed off course by strong winds and fog while flying at night, then drawn to the village lights. Conservation work has since reduced the trapping.
- When
- Every autumn
- Where
- Dima Hasao, Assam, India
- Witnesses
- Villagers and ornithologists
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.