Dozens of birds drop dead in Quebec City

It was raining birds — literally— this weekend in a Quebec City neighbourhood after dozens of small feathered creatures were accidentally poisoned.

Residents of the Limoilou neighbourhood described the Sunday morning scene as worthy of a horror movie. The birds were disoriented and dropped dead in the streets or spent several minutes in convulsions before dying.

Police and firefighters were called in and feared a gas leak was responsible for killing more than 40 birds. But their investigation quickly led them to the culprit: an extermination compound.

The pesticide was placed on a rooftop to disorient pigeons and force them to find another place to roost. But the compound proved to be deadly for smaller types of birds, the bronzed grackles.

"The wrong type of bird ended up being targeted," Quebec City police spokeswoman Catherine Viel said.

Police said the compound is legal and no charges will be laid in this case.

But the Quebec Environment ministry is investigating the incident to see if the extermination company followed the guidelines.

via Dozens of birds drop dead in Quebec City.