Experts find indigestion to be most probable cause of poultry death in Italy

Thousands of dead turtle doves that rained down on roofs and cars in the Italian town of Faenza were victims of their on greed, Mail Online reported, referring to an expert's statement.

Residents in Faenza described the birds falling to the ground like 'little Christmas balls' with strange blue stains on their beaks.
Last night it emerged that 40 turtle doves had also been found dead at San Cesario near Modena, 60 miles from Faenza, and tests were also being carried out on their bodies.

The birds have been found by residents in the village for the last three days and they alerted authorities after hearing reports of the incident at Faenza.

Gianni Sereni, who found 12 birds in his garden, said: 'At first I didn't think anything of it but then I saw the reports on the news about what had happened elsewhere so I called the local veterinary service.'

Initial tests on up to 1,000 of the doves from Faezna indicated that the blue stain could have been caused by poisoning or hypoxia.
Hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, is known to cause confusion and illness in animals. It is also a common precursor to altitude sickness.
Gianni Sereni, who found 12 birds in his garden, said: 'At first I didn't think anything of it but then I saw the reports on the news about what had happened elsewhere so I called the local veterinary service.'

Official results on the Italian birds are due tomorrow, but Rodolfo Ridolfi, a director at the regional zoological institute, said:'We are fairly confident the birds died as a result of massive indigestion brought on by over-eating.

The most likely cause are discarded sunflower seeds that were found on an industrial estate close to where the bodies of the turtle doves were found.

"In essence the birds were greedy, ate too many of the seeds - which we have found inside them during autopsies - and this brought on the indigestion that led to their death."

Mr Ridolfi said that cold weather last week could have caused the turtle doves to die as the flock was swept into a high-altitude wind storm before falling to the earth.