Australian town like scene from a Hitchcock film as hundreds of cockatoos swarm streets

Hundreds of cockatoos have filled the skies above an Australian town in scenes reminiscent of a horror film.

A resident in New South Wales uploaded a video of the eerie experience to TikTok on Tuesday. It has since racked up more than 385,000 views and thousands of comments.

Some people have likened it to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic The Birds, which centres on a series of unexplained violent bird attacks on people.

Meanwhile, others have tried to come up with more rational explanations for the invasion.

The species of cockatoo – identified by 9News as corellas – are known for displaying pretty destructive behaviour, so their arrival isn’t exactly great news, even for bird lovers.

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Regardless, there isn’t much residents can do about the intruders because they are a protected species.

As homeowners in the area waited for their new neighbours to spread their wings and fly away, thousands of TikTokers shared their theories on what prompted the influx.

One wrote: “Maybe the trees that use to be there before the houses were built were home for them?”

“The result of land clearing and cutting of the trees??,” another suggested.

A third said: “This is what happens when you destroy/clear their homes that have been there since forever.”

“Tell me you need to plant trees without telling me you need to plant trees...” a fourth added.

The landscape was completely covered by the white birds

Professor Gisella Kaplan told the ABC that corellas don’t usually travel in large packs unless their old homes have suddenly became unliveable.

“Corellas prefer to move in small flocks of 20 or 30, but what we have seen in the last (few) years in Western Australia and South Australia and occasionally in Sydney, is huge flocks of thousands, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that their numbers have increased,” she said.

“It can mean that they have all fled from somewhere and flocked together...in most cases, it happens when there is a dire shortage of food and water or the heat gets so bad they have to flee.

“We need to help them survive because in some cases it could be that the huge flock may be the sum total of all the birds that exist in that state and that entire huge region.”

Whatever the cause, we hope the birds are soon able to find new homes.