Flock of birds die and fall from the sky in Mexico in disturbing footage

Chilling footage shows the moment hundreds of blackbirds die and fall from the sky in Mexico.

The flock of yellow-headed blackbirds were seen suddenly crashing from the sky at around 8.20am on Monday in the state of Chihuahua.

Disturbing images show bird carcasses strewn across the street in the city of Cuauhtémoc. The cause of their death remains unclear.

The footage from a security camera, filmed on February 7, shows the flock of birds fall to the ground after flying past a house in a suburban area.

The birds may have died as a result of inhaling toxic smoke from a nearby heater, according to local newspaper El Heraldo de Chihuahua. It is also thought they may have been electrocuted after standing on power lines.

Dr Richard Broughton, an ecologist with the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, told the Guardian that it was likely the incident was caused by a predatory bird.

He said the bird may have forced the flock to fly close together - crashing into nearby buildings or the ground in the process.

“This looks like a raptor like a peregrine or hawk has been chasing a flock, like they do with murmuring starlings, and they have crashed as the flock was forced low,” he added.

“You can see that they act like a wave at the beginning, as if they are being flushed from above.”

It mirrors a similar incident in Wales last week, with some 200 birds found dead on a country road between Waterson and Hazelbeach in Pembrokeshire.

A witness reported hearing a loud bang before seven or eight starlings fell onto his car.

Bird expert Dominic Couzens, 59, told MailOnline: “They were probably startled by something, maybe a loud bang.

“Something unexpected made them disorientated and then they flew into something.

“It’s very odd. It’s very strange. It’s not something that’s easily explained.”