Israel Nature and Parks Authority rangers said Sunday that hundreds of wild birds, many of them rare and endangered, were found dead in southern Israel over the weekend, after apparently drinking from water contaminated by a pesticide.

Rangers collected the carcasses of 335 black kites, a greater spotted eagle, a lapwing, and a gray crow. The bodies, found near Moshav Patish in southern Israel, have been sent for autopsy. The results are expected in the coming 24 to 48 hours.

Until then, it will not be known whether the pesticide was approved for use in Israel, and, if so, whether it was used correctly, but officials warned that misuse of pesticides, including legal ones, was an ongoing problem

Prof. Dror Hablana, the new chief scientist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, warned that the tragedy was “the tip of the iceberg” because the suspected chemical is toxic to many species and persists in the environment for a long........

© The Times of Israel