Expert: Roger Lederer - 9/13/2008

Question
I live in southern Maryland. On September 12, 2008 at about 8:30 P.M. I saw a bird flying (for lack of a better word) crazy! At first I thought it was a dragon fly, because of the way it was flying. But I quickly realized that it was in fact a bird. I've checked online to try and identify the bird, but the closest I've come to is a Gray - Cheeked Thrush (although we do have a lot of Robins in our yard). It was brown and about the size of a Robin, but it was dark and the bird was moving too fast. My concern is, I think the bird might be diseased. The bird was flying in a small area, very fast, back and forth, up and down, with sharp turns, and quick movements. I've never seen anything like this. The bird seemed confused and scared. This went on for about 5 minutes, then I went inside, so I don't know how long it continued. I checked the next afternoon for a body. There was no body but there were numerous feathers on the ground. Any information would be great as I have 3 small children and a small dog. We have fruit trees, berry bushes, and plenty of trees that are full of different birds, squirrels, and plenty of mosquitoes. Thank you so much for your time.  

Answer
From the information you have given me, I can't determine anything for sure. I've seen lots of birds act like that when they were being harassed by a cat or dog or squirrel or some other animal. I know of no disease that would cause such behavior. I don't think there is anything at all to be concerned about.