El Niño, not avian flu, caused the deaths of hundreds of birds in Mexico, government says

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Experts in Mexico say that the warming Pacific ocean currents known as El Niño, not avian flu, were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of birds along Mexico’s Pacific coast this year. When scientists heard about the die-off, they had suspected a particularly lethal form of avian flu. But Mexico’s Agriculture Department said Thursday that tests on the dead birds revealed they had died of starvation, not flu. The department said that warming surface water in the Pacific caused by El Niño can drive fish into deeper, cooler water, making it harder for birds to find food.