Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/17/2005

Question
Hi Roger, I live in Johannesburg, South Agrica and have about 35
species of birds in the garden. Well I always wonder where they
go when they die, I never see dead birds around unless they
were killed accidently by a car or maybe they flew into a closed
window etc. Where do they all go to?
Thanks for your time
Keith Hutchinson

Answer
Hi Keith. Birds do not go anywhere in particular when they die. Think about how many dead mammals or lizards or insects you see - not that many either. But when birds fall to the ground or die while on the ground, they decompose rather rapidly because their bones are hollow and their skin is thin. When you find a dead mammal like a rat, you tend to find the skin and tail because they are thick and leathery. Bird construction is relatively thin and fragile so they get chewed up by decomposers (flies, maggots, bacteria) quickly. See www.ornithology.com for more information on wild birds. Rogr Lederer