Rainbow Lorikeets Dropping From Sky

On Wednesday (Jan. 31), ABC News in Australia carried a story about hundreds of rainbow-colored parrots falling dead out of the sky along a swath of the east coast of that country centered on Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. In 2010, around the time the first 4G cell towers were being built, ornithologists described the first cases of a mysterious disease that paralyzed and killed these stunning creatures. During the summer of 2019-2020, when the first 5G towers went into service, 1,500 rainbow lorikeets rained out of the skies. And last week, when more than 200 dead lorikeets were collected in just a few days, it made headlines again.

     

This disease, which has been named Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome, has puzzled scientists. It is not encephalomyelitis, which was described in the 1970s as an uncommon disease in these birds that began with clenching of the feet progressing to complete rigid paralysis. The brains and spinal cords of such birds were abnormal, showing edema, cell death, degeneration of neurons, and other gross abnormalities. But birds with Lorikeet Paralysis Syndrome are limp, not rigid, and have no visible abnormalities. In the past 14 years, ornithologists have been at a complete loss to explain it. Tests for all known pesticides and fungicides have come back negative, and scientists have ruled out infectious diseases. And the same syndrome is being seen in flying foxes. An article in the Australian Veterinary Journal (PDF) states:

    

“Manifestations of this disease range from the inability to fly and hindlimb weakness and ataxia, to a flaccid paralysis of all limbs and the neck, inability to blink, paralysis of the tongue, inability to swallow and voice change. The number of cases each year ranges from hundreds to thousands, making it one of the most important wildlife diseases and animal welfare concerns in Australia.”

Muriel in the UK, who brought this to my attention, writes:

      

“What puzzles me is that people cannot see what is going on and they do not understand why these beautiful birds are dying. Even reading the symptoms will give you a clue!

      

“I observe wildlife here, the birds, the bees who come to my garden. The birds get confused, and the bees, I only have a handful in the Summer now. Quite a lot of cats have been lost where I live. Too many from December to January. I really think that cats are getting confused and are getting lost as a result.”