Italian turtle doves found dead

The European turtle dove is a migratory bird that feeds in open forest areas

Hundreds of dead turtle doves have been found in the parks and streets of the northern Italian town of Faenza.

Italian scientists are investigating what might have caused the deaths of the 400 birds, whose bodies appeared in the days after New Year.

Their mysterious appearance follows separate cases of mass bird deaths in Sweden and the US state of Arkansas.

Experts said a variety of tests were being carried out but emphasised there was no cause for alarm.

"We are carrying out the standard virology tests," Matteo Frasnelli, of the region's zoological institute, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"We're looking into known diseases, epidemics and viruses. Then we'll do toxicology tests."

Experts at the institute have suggested that the doves might have died after eating a different type of seed - such as sunflower seeds - as a result of winter food shortages.

The case has attracted attention because of its parallels with two recent bird death incidents.

The first took place in the Arkansas town of Beebe when, on New Year's Eve, some 3,000 red-winged blackbirds fell to their deaths.

Just a few days later dozens of jackdaws were found dead in a residential street in Falkoeping, Sweden.

Scientists in Arkansas said the blackbirds there may have been affected by fireworks set off to celebrate the New Year.

Officials in Falkoeping - where there were no reports of fireworks or storms at the time - have said there could be a variety of reasons for the bird deaths, including "disease or poisoning".