Bird Suicide Grounds of Jatinga, India

Jatinga is a small village located in Assam, a state in northeastern India, Commonly known as valley of death for birds.

that small village of Jatinga in north of India seems like any other quiet, isolated village in the world except for one reason…every year around the months of September and October hundreds of birds dive to their deaths within its city limits.

During these late monsoon months, several migratory and local birds commit mass suicide at the village.

Just after sunset, between 7 and 10 pm, hundreds of birds descend from the sky, plummeting to their deaths by crashing into buildings and trees.

Locals believed that evil spirits living in the skies were responsible for bringing down the birds, but that isn’t true.

Various studies have been conducted to unravel the causes behind this phenomenon.  The record maintained show that 44 species have been attracted to the light sources. It has been established that the birds are not attracted to the entire Jatinga Ridge but only to a well-defined strip, 1.5 km long and 200 metres wide. Invariably the birds come in only from the north and attempts at placing the lights on the southern side of the ridge to attract the birds have failed. Another interesting fact has been brought out is that no long distance migratory bird gets attracted to the light traps. The victims are resident birds of the adjacent valleys and hill slopes.  

Wildlife and bird societies in India have gone to the village to educate them about the phenomenon in an attempt to stop the mass killings of the birds. Since then bird deaths have decreased by forty percent. Government officials in Assam are hoping to use the phenomenon to attract tourists to the small city, and some work has gone into creating accommodations for visitors in Jatinga.

Jatinga is not the only place in the world where such weird behaviour of birds is noticed. This phenomenon is also seen in Philippines, Malaysia and another state of India Mizoram.