What’s the government testing in Arkansas—new HAARP capability?

Falling birds likely died from massive trauma

It's raining birds

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Preliminary report suggests no sign of any chronic or infectious disease
• The birds show evidence of trauma in the breast tissue and internal bleeding
• Up to 5,000 birds fell from the sky New Year's Eve in Beebe, Arkansas
• 500 birds found dead in southern Louisiana in seemingly separate incident

(CNN) -- The thousands of birds that fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve in Arkansas likely died from massive trauma, according to a preliminary report released Monday.

The birds, most of which were dead when they were found, were red-winged blackbirds and starlings. They were found within a one-mile area of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said.

Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the commission, said the birds showed evidence of trauma in the breast tissue, with blood clots in the body cavity and a lot of internal bleeding. All major organs were normal.