Buzz
Do you consider birds the perfect companion, with a group of cockatoos or parrots calmly perched in their cages? Or have you encountered a different situation, such as being pecked by a chicken while gathering eggs? No matter your experience, we owe Alfred Hitchcock for sparking a fear of what many perceive as a harmless animal in The Birds. After viewing it, your perspective on ravens and seagulls might shift dramatically.
Curiously, a group of crows is known as a “murder,” though they aren’t the birds you should be most wary of. While bird-related fatalities are infrequent, they do occur and can be quite unsettling! Below are ten such incidents where our feathered companions—either directly or indirectly—were responsible for tragic outcomes.
10. Washington Resident Fatally Injured by Ostrich
Ostriches are often associated with the stereotype of burying their heads in the sand, avoiding confrontation. However, when cornered or threatened, these formidable birds can become aggressive and pose a serious danger.
In June 1999, Linda Carter was stunned to find her 81-year-old father, Fred Parker, dead in an ostrich pen on her exotic animal farm near Seattle, Washington. Parker, who had a fear of ostriches according to his family, had been living in a recreational vehicle on Carter’s farm. One weekend, while alone, he took on the task of feeding Carter’s ostriches, emus, llamas, and pot-bellied pigs.
Carter clarified that the ostriches were typically fed by tossing food over the fence and could not explain why her father had entered the enclosure of King Tut, a 400-pound ostrich. The bird stomped or kicked Parker, breaking his neck. It’s believed that Parker’s poor heart condition may have also contributed to his death.
The previous year, King Tut had kicked Carter, sending her flying over 3 meters (10 feet). Despite the dangerous encounter, she defended the ostrich and continued her successful business selling ostrich meat and skin. “I have no plans to destroy my ostrich because of my father’s death,” she stated. “The ostrich was defending its territory. It’s just like any wild animal. You don’t enter a bear’s pen; you don’t enter an ostrich’s pen.”
9. Ethiopian Child Killed by Martial Eagle
A town in the Somali region of Ethiopia was terrorized by a fearsome martial eagle. Locals believed that the repeated attacks were all from the same bird.
In September 2019, at least three children were pecked or clawed by the ferocious bird. One mother was inside her home when she heard her son crying out in distress. “We rushed outside, and I saw [the bird] holding my son on the ground, biting him,” she told the BBC. “He was screaming ‘Mother… Mother!’ I rushed to him and threw a stick at the bird.”
Her quick action likely saved her son’s life, but tragically, another child wasn’t so fortunate—he was killed by the bird’s claws. With shoot-to-kill orders in place, the police began hunting down the dangerous eagle. Authorities suspect the rogue bird mistook the children for its usual prey.
8. Hominid Child Killed by Crowned Hawk-Eagle
The Taung child, a hominid skull found in South Africa in 1924, is believed to be 2 million years old. For many years, it was assumed that the 3- or 4-year-old child had been killed by a leopard or a saber-toothed tiger.
However, in January 2006, Johannesburg paleoanthropologist Lee Berger proposed that the Taung child had been snatched by a large bird of prey that tore out and devoured the child’s eyes. The deadly bird was likely a crowned hawk-eagle, which continues to hunt small primates in Africa to this day.
The Taung child’s skull displayed bone damage that helped differentiate bird-of-prey kills from those caused by big cats. “These crucial indicators were puncture marks at the base of the eye sockets of primates, made when the eagles pulled the eyes out of the dead monkeys using their sharp talons and beaks,” Berger explained. “It was a clue that others hadn’t noticed before, firmly linking eagles to the kill.” The marks on the Taung child’s skull were clear examples of eagle-inflicted damage.
7. Australian Woman Killed by Chicken
In August 2019, a 76-year-old woman from rural Australia was pecked to death by a rooster while collecting eggs from her property. The bird’s beak punctured a varicose vein, leading to severe blood loss and causing the woman to collapse. She died before paramedics could reach her. The victim also suffered from hypertension and Type II diabetes in addition to her varicose veins.
“Even relatively small domestic animals can inflict fatal injuries in vulnerable individuals if certain vascular weaknesses are present,” according to a report in the Journal of Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, noting that this rare incident highlights the risks faced by the elderly.
6. Australian Baby Dies during Magpie Attack
In August 2021, an Australian woman was holding her 5-month-old daughter when a magpie swooped down at them. As she tried to evade the bird’s dive-bombing attack, the mother lost her balance and fell. Tragically, baby Mia succumbed to the head injuries she suffered during the fall.
Magpies, which grow to around 40 centimeters (15 inches) in length, are native to Australia. They are infamous for aggressively protecting their nests, particularly during the breeding season from July to December. These black-and-white, sharp-beaked birds are a protected species in Australia, where it is illegal to kill them or disturb their chicks and eggs in the wild.
However, Queensland’s “Magpie Alert” website recorded 1,231 magpie swoops in 2020. Thousands more incidents were reported across Australia. Over 10 percent of people who are swooped by magpies sustain injuries. In 2020, a Melbourne man nearly lost his eye in a magpie attack. In 2019, a 76-year-old Sydney man died from head injuries after crashing his bicycle to avoid a swooping magpie. And in 2018, a child in Perth was nearly blinded when a magpie struck his face while he sat in his stroller.
“Swooping season happens when the male magpies are protecting their chicks in the nest,” explained Sean Dooley from BirdLife Australia. “Though only male magpies swoop and just 10 percent of them do so, the consequences, especially when people are caught off guard, can be truly alarming and catastrophic.”
5. Tragedian Playwright Killed by a Carrion Bird’s Prey
A carrion bird was implicated in the bizarre death of 67-year-old playwright Aeschylus. In 455 BC, the 'Father of Greek Tragedy' tragically perished when a high-flying bird dropped its tortoise meal onto his head.
The bird, most likely an eagle or vulture, likely confused Aeschylus’s bald head with a rock or other hard surface ideal for breaking open a tortoise’s shell. The lammergeier vulture, common in southern Europe at the time, would carry large bones into the sky and release them onto rocks to break them open, before swooping down to feast on the exposed marrow (a method it also used for tortoise shells).
Ironically, as per Naturalis Historia by Roman author Pliny the Elder, Aeschylus had intentionally spent time outdoors to escape a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.
4. UK Man Killed by Pigeon Dust
Pigeons are both despised and admired: viewed as loathsome 'rats with wings' by some, while others see them as symbols of peace and domestic life. For over 5,000 years, pigeon enthusiasts worldwide have been practicing the art of pigeon keeping.
For nearly 80 years, Bill Brailsford was a distinguished pigeon fancier, keeping his prize-winning birds—sometimes as many as 170—at his Derby residence. In September 2010, at the age of 91, he passed away from extrinsic allergic alveolitis, a lung disease caused by inhaling organic dust repeatedly.
Brailsford’s 47-year-old grandson held the toxic dust generated by the birds responsible for his death. 'Pigeons were my grandad’s passion; now they’ve taken his life,' he said. After clearing out the birds from his grandfather’s house, the younger Brailsford fell ill with pneumonia and worried he might be suffering from the same condition.
'I’d advise other pigeon fanciers to wear masks and perhaps limit the number of birds they keep,' he suggested. The coroner concluded that the death was accidental, attributing it to prolonged exposure to dust from pigeon droppings and bird feed.
3. Florida Man Killed by Cassowary
If there were any lingering doubts that birds are dinosaurs, the cassowary removes them. Found in Papua New Guinea and Australia, the cassowary is known as the deadliest bird on the planet. Smithsonian Magazine describes the prehistoric, monstrous bird in the following way:
“Imagine an ostrich as depicted by H.P. Lovecraft, or perhaps a turkey combined with a velociraptor. Weighing nearly [68 kilograms] 150 pounds, she stands on sturdy, reptilian legs that allow her to reach a towering [1.8 meters] six feet tall when she stretches to her full height. Though flightless, the cassowary is draped in long black feathers, and her vibrant blue face—crowned by a towering, keratinous casque—stands out like a symbol from a dream.”
The cassowary’s primary weapon is its claws. Each of its three toes bears a 12.7-centimeter (5-inch) toenail, which is “probably the closest thing you’ll find in nature to a railway spike.” This deadly talon can quickly disembowel a human. Though the cautious, defensive bird only attacks when provoked, it doesn’t take much to upset it.
A Florida man who kept cassowaries was killed by one of his own. In April 2019, 75-year-old Marvin Hajos fell between two cassowary pens. The movement either startled one of the birds or presented an opportunity for an attack through the fence. The medical examiner concluded that Hajos died from the injuries caused by the bird, adding, 'I know ostriches and emus have their moments, but cassowaries are an extremely, extremely dangerous bird. You don’t want to fool around with them. They have no sense of humor.'
In New Guinea, cassowaries are bred for their meat, remaining a part of the local diet. However, in the U.S., they are more commonly raised by wealthy hobbyists looking to add the menacing bird to their collection of exotic animals. After Hajos’s death, the bird responsible for the attack was sold at auction alongside roughly 100 other exotic animals from the Florida property.
2. Indian Man Killed by Cockerel
In February 2021, 45-year-old Thanugula Satish from southern India tragically lost his life during an illegal cockfight. The young rooster, armed with a 7-centimeter (3-inch) knife known as a 'kodi kathi,' impaled its owner in the groin while trying to flee the fight. Satish bled to death before reaching the hospital.
Authorities launched a search for the dozen or so people involved in the event. They faced charges for manslaughter, organizing a cockfight, and illegal betting. (Cockfighting was banned in India in 1960.) The rooster, now a key piece of evidence, was sent to live on a farm but will be summoned during the trial.
In January 2020, 55-year-old Saripalli Venkateswara Rao succumbed to fatal injuries when his bird’s kodi kathi slashed his throat. Later in October 2020, Philippine police lieutenant Christine Bolok was fatally wounded after a rooster’s blade sliced his femoral artery during a raid of an illegal cockfight.
1. Detroit Man Killed by Turkey
In April 2019, a 70-year-old motorcyclist was struck and killed by a wild turkey. While riding his bike, the man encountered several turkeys crossing the road. One of the birds flew up and collided with the rider's chest, causing the fatal accident.
The man, equipped with a helmet and protective gear, lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a guardrail post, resulting in the amputation of his leg below the knee. Paramedics rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
In the East Northcentral U.S., spring marks the breeding season for wild turkeys. During this period, the birds can become territorial and aggressive, sometimes charging at, threatening, or acting in a hostile manner toward people.
