Mysterious Birds Suicide Spot

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Birds suicide पक्षियों आत्महत्या

In northeastern Indian state of Assam is a world-renowned small village named Jatinga. This small village is a perfect solace for those who want to be in the midst of calming and mesmerizing natural beauty. It is all serene and peaceful out there. Lush green landscapes guarded by high mountain ranges is a treat for city eyes. However, it is not really the beauty of the village that has pushed it to the top of fame ladder. It is the mysterious Bird Suicide phenomenon that has managed to grab attraction of people worldwide.

The tranquillity of Jatinga, a scenic village nestling among the Borail Hills range, is shattered every night by a disturbing occurrence - the 'mass suicide' of hundreds of birds.

The tranquillity of Jatinga, a scenic village nestling among the Borail Hills range, is shattered every night by a disturbing occurrence - the 'mass suicide' of hundreds of birds. Locals have been witnessing the been phenomenon from September to November for the last couple of years. As the sun sets, hundreds of birds descend on the village and fly full speed towards buildings and trees, crashing to their deaths. The repeated episodes are confined to a 1.5 km strip of the village. 

With lush greenery and plentiful freshwater, Jatinga, the headquarters of the Dima Hasao district, some eight kilometres from here, is a resting place for many migratory birds. Haflong is 350 km from Guwahati

Is it really suicide, or something else? "It is not a suicide, to be precise. But the fact remains that birds are attracted by light and fly towards any object with a light source. This phenomenon still puzzles bird specialists," said Anwaruddin Choudhury, a well-known ornithologist in Assam, on the sidelines of the First International Jatinga Festival. 

In the last decade dead Vultures were carried away like this in tens-hundreds  They were found dead everywhere, hanging from trees, in the nests etc .

The 'suicide', however, is just a part of the mystery. The more baffling question is why birds fly after sunset at all, as reserach shows that most birds are diurnal, that is, active only during the day.

The unusual behaviour of the birds seems to occur due to the peculiar weather conditions at Jatinga. There also appears to be a correlation between the breeding period of the birds and the Jatinga phenomenon. Studies also reveal that the flight of water birds to Jatinga may be attributed to heavy rains and floods and submergence of their natural habitat in the surrounding areas. It has been observed that there was a high congregation of birds at Jatinga during 1988 which happened to be a year of high floods. Renowned ornithologists Dr. Salim Ali, Dr. S.Sengupta, A. Rauf etc have carried out researches on this subject.  However, no single hypothesis comprehensively explains the Jatinga mystery till date. The problem deserves deeper scientific study from various angles .