Pacific Coast sea bird die-off puzzles scientists | Associated Press

Cassins Auklet. Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring NetworkJan. 3, 1015 (AP) -- Scientists are trying to figure out what's behind the deaths of seabirds that have been found by the hundreds along the Pacific Coast since October.

Mass die-offs of the small, white-bellied gray birds known as Cassin's aucklets have been reported from British Columbia to San Luis Obispo, California.

It's normal for some seabirds to die during harsh winter conditions, especially during big storms, but the scale of the current die-off is unusual.

"To be this lengthy and geographically widespread, I think is kind of unprecedented," Phillip Johnson, executive director of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, told the Salem Statesman Journal. "It's an interesting and somewhat mysterious event."

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