Why are dead birds falling from the sky?

For the third time in less than a week dead birds have reportedly fallen from the sky, first in America – now in Europe.

Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, residents of Falkping, southeast of Skvde in southern Sweden, found 50 to 100 jackdaws lying in the street.

The site has been blocked for a veterinary inspection. The cause is not known yet. Emergency services have cordoned off an area around the site so that the dead birds can be examined.

In the US, tests are being carried out after thousands of blackbirds appeared to mysteriously fall from the sky in the town of Beebe, Arkansas.

They were first discovered late on New Year’s Eve prompting one theory that fireworks may have been to blame. Poisoning was thought to be unlikely after dogs and cats that ate the birds did not fall ill.

Days later people in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana were also dealing with hundreds of dead birds.

Wildlife vet Dr Jim Lacour, who was called to investigate, said some birds appeared to have been run over and others seemed to have dropped right out of the sky.

Test results could take up to a month but in the meantime internet conspiracy theories range from secret US government experiments to UFOs.