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Comment by tidydata | Hacker News Reader

> "West Nile [disease] is ruled out. . . Everything has been ruled out. To date, we still do not know," says Monsma, citing tests conducted by Wildlife's clinic director, Cheryl Chooljian.

I’m no expert in this, but I’m going to guess that destroying their habitats may be to blame.

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Definitely agree that the habitat destruction we have inflicted upon the animals we share the planet with is sad.

The article is about a specific disease though that birds in the eastern US have started suffering from this spring/summer.

These things are not unrelated.

Yes, obviously habitat destruction, chemical exposure, etc. are bad. But the sudden, broad emergence of a new set of symptoms means that something new is happening besides business as usual.

In this scenario, saying "habitat destruction" and leaving it at that is like a coroner saying "cause of death: stopped being alive." It's true, but not useful.

No, this is absolutely business as usual. The “new” thing you’re talking about is a “new” thing during that year, until something new comes out the next, repeating to produce this: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/

What was that saying about missing the forest for the trees?

I mean we are but what does that have to do with swollen eyes and neurological impairment?

It would seem quite obvious that mass destruction of habitat may cause neurological impairment, mass deaths, etc.

Habitat destruction is definitely a problem, but in this case the disease is affecting birds that live well alongside humans like starlings and Jays. I’m pretty sure we aren’t running out of city habitat.

It really doesn't take an expert to recognize the cause on a macro-level - destroying their habitats, an infinite number of chemicals making their way through the food chain, air pollution, climate change, fewer insects.

If anything, this seems like a predictable outcome.

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