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Image is from 2018 #### If Your Time is short * This photo was taken in April 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas. * A local ornithologist said the birds may have died after getting intoxicated from fermented berries and then falling from high heights. See the sources for this fact-check After authorities told residents it was safe to return after a chemical spill caused by a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, some reported finding dead fish and chickens in the area. A recent Facebook post suggests fallout from the derailment has reached Ohio’s southern neighbor, Kentucky. \"Maybe we should be concerned with what’s going on in Ohio,\" the Feb. 16 post says. \"These birds dropped de@d in Ky.\" An image in the post shows a street littered with about a dozen birds. But a reverse image search quickly led us to a different conclusion than this Facebook post, which was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.) #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 6, 2024 in in social media posts Haitian immigrants are eating pets and wildlife in Springfield, Ohio. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 9, 2024 The photo was taken in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, in April 2018. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the birds were likely cedar waxwings, which feed almost exclusively on berries. Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, told the newspaper that recent warm days and cool nights may have caused berries in the area to ferment, getting the birds so intoxicated that they fell out of trees or off buildings and died. We rate claims that a photo shows dead birds in Kentucky in the wake of the Ohio train derailment False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Facebook post, Feb. 26, 2023 NBC News, Worried residents near Ohio train derailment report dead fish and chickens as authorities say it\'s safe to return, Feb. 13, 2023 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Dead birds found in downtown Little Rock possibly intoxicated from fermented berries, expert says, April 9, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Ciara O\'Rourke slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 8, 2024 in a Threads post: “Elon Musk is going to expose Bill Gates soon, says ‘he’s evil.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Gordon Ramsay calls Tim Walz a ‘woke creep,’ throws him out of Hell’s Kitchen.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Photo shows Elton John wearing a “MAGA” jacket. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 17, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Chiefs\' Coach Andy Reid criticizes Taylor Swift: ‘You’re not a good role model.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 17, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Kansas City Chiefs CEO bans Taylor Swift from attending games, calling her the team’s ‘biggest distraction.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in a Facebook post: Says Colin Kaepernick said he “will go to Russia if not properly respected in the United States.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 17, 2024 in a Threads post: Image shows “P Diddy with Kamala Harris.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 20, 2024 ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in an Instagram post: Taylor Swift “lost 17 million followers by endorsing Kamala.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 19, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Country Music Television (CMT) has announced a permanent boycott of Taylor Swift.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Disney World officially moving to Nashville.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in Threads post: Images show Sean Combs’ booking photos after Sept. 16 arrest. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" logo-black-01/b6cedac93f6e57c68ecc025e5ec29d57.jpg\\") ![](\\" logo-black-01/438dbf066033f99de07598cbcc77ddcb.jpg\\") Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Threads post: “Donald Trump posted this photo of Taylor Swift saying that she was crying because she lost over $150 million worth of merchandise.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 13, 2024 in an Instagram post: Says Rep. 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A photo shows birds that dropped dead in Kentucky after the train derailment in Ohio