By Jenni Fink
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Across the country, there are laws in place for residents who are caught driving drunk. However, one Minnesota town might want to consider updating their laws to include flying while drunk as the local bird population is causing quite the stir.
On Tuesday, the Gilbert Police Department acknowledged the plight facing the community and explained that it had received numerous reports of birds that appeared to be "under the influence." Problematic behaviors included flying into windows, cars and simply "acting confused."
The culprit behind the odd behavior was a case of overindulgence, not unlike people who fancy a drink or two. The police department explained that an early frost caused berries in the area to ferment earlier than usual. Combined with the fact that many birds haven't migrated south, it's become more prevalent than previous years.
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"It appears that some birds are getting a little more 'tipsy' than usual," the department said. "Generally, younger birds' livers cannot handle the toxins as efficient as more mature birds."
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Fortunately, the youngsters will only be under the influence for a short period of time because police believe they'll sober up very soon. Police in Gilbert said that since the birds will return to their normal chirping selves all on their own, it's unnecessary for residents to call the department to report it.
However, the Police Department jokingly added the caveat that there are a few behaviors regarding birds that they would like to be made aware of, including:
- Heckle and Jeckle walking around being boisterous or playing practical jokes
- Woodstock pushing Snoopy off the doghouse for no apparent reason
- The Roadrunner jumping in and out of traffic on Main Street
- Big Bird operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner
- Angry Birds laughing and giggling uncontrollably and appearing to be happy
- Tweety acting as if he's 10 feet tall and getting into confrontations with cats
- Any other birds after midnight with Taco Bell items
Matthew Dodder, who has four decades of birding experience, explained to The Washington Post that robins, cedar waxwings and thrushes eat more berries than other bird species, making them more prone to getting drunk. The phenomenon can be particularly bad when birds are preparing to fly south because they tend to be eating more to store up for the journey.
"Most birds likely just get a bit tipsy, and very few people would be able to pick them out as intoxicated," Meghan Larivee, a laboratory coordinator at the government agency Environment Yukon in Canada, told National Geographic. "However, every now and then, some birds just overdo it."
While the idea of birds flying around drunk sounds funny, it can be deadly. In 2012, 12 common blackbirds were found dead at an elementary school in England. An investigation into the suspicious deaths found a significant amount of alcohol in their livers, caused by eating fermenting rowan berries.
Ben Andrews, a wildlife adviser with the United Kingdom's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, also told National Geographic that a bird eating fermenting berries could prevent it from flying in a straight line. For birds trying to find their way to a southern destination, this could be a fatal impairment.
Fortunately, for most mature birds, their livers are large enough to handle the amount of alcohol found in the fermented berries. So they'll either experience minor effects or sober up quickly.
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