Why Did It Rain Fish in One Texas Town? Bird Vomit, Possibly

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You may or may not remember that at the end of 2021, one Texas city closed out the year with something strange happening. It rained fish.

The odd event happened on December 29th in Texarkana where several spots in the city saw fish -- yes, real fish -- falling from the sky.

Fish were found in truck beds, on streets and on rooftops. The fish rain was initially blamed on water spouts, but according to a new report from the Dallas Morning News, birds and their digestive issues may have been the real culprit.

Apparently on December 29th, 2021, there were no water spouts near Texarkana, but there were birds. From Dallas Morning News:

As they made their way through the different possibilities, Hill said evidence seemed to point toward birds — cormorants, specifically.

“The last one that we knew that was a reasonable explanation was the birds, either carrying them in their beaks, their talons or their stomachs,” Hill said.

The University of Texas Biodiversity Center in Austin will help verify the findings of the investigation, Hill said, but he added the two-person team is confident of their conclusion.

Hill said she and Cropper spoke with residents in the area who said they had seen cormorants around the time of the fish falling from the sky.

The researchers believe that the birds may have vomited up the fish, which were identified as Gizzard shad, many of which looked like they had been partially digested. Cormorants, apparently, have a habit of expelling contents of their stomach.