The search for explanations

With no signs of infections or other illnesses, and no external signs of what killed them, experts around the world are struggling to explain the mass animal deaths, while holding off on the temptation to connect events in Europe to the U.S.

In Sweden, 100 jackdaws were found dead on a roadside. Explanations remain vague.

According to CNN:

Autopsies were performed on five of the birds. The institute said they died due to "sudden, hard external blows," according to the press release. They had no signs of infection or other illnesses, and there were no external signs indicating what killed them.

"We have determined that the birds have died from severe internal bleedings caused by external blows," said the Institute's Marianne Elvander.

Meanwhile, "A county veterinarian has speculated that the birds that fell from the sky in central Sweden on Tuesday may have been frightened by fireworks, then run over by a car after landing on the road in the dark." (The Swedish Local)

Seems to me like this NY Times lesson plan designed for the classroom is doing a better job of asking questions than the media, which is either lazily relying on authorities' vague explanations for isolated incidents, or resorting to a Church's declaration that May 11, 2011 is judgment day.