The Birds of Jatinga · Birds That Take Their Own Lives Once a Month

In the village of Jatinga in Assam there is a phenomenon that has never been explained: after the monsoon, on foggy, moonless nights, large numbers of birds fly into the village and, once down, do not take off again. They can be picked up by hand.

The villagers treat it as a festival: they collect the birds, keep them and share them out among the households. Scientists have suggested fog, magnetism or the shape of the land, without reaching a conclusion.

The old people of the village offer no explanation. They only say the birds come of their own accord; nobody calls them.

Natural Mysteries / Assam · India / Modern day