More than 40 pelicans died in one night on a Texas highway. What’s going on?

On one Monday evening in south Texas, at least 40 pelicans landed on a highway that led to their deaths.

The pelicans landed on Highway 48 in Cameron County on Oct. 15, Lt. Johnny Hernandez with the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release.

While on the highway, 40-plus pelicans were struck and killed by drivers passing through, Hernandez said.

State troopers were called to the highway that night, Hernandez said, and they conducted traffic control “to try and prevent any additional pelicans being hit by passing motorist(s).”

A state game warden and a county deputy also helped with bird and traffic control, according to the release.

But this isn’t a new concern.

“Each year, when cold weather arrives in Cameron County, weather conditions force the pelicans on to the roadway,” The Brownsville Herald reported.

Hernandez told The Wichita Eagle he just wants drivers to be careful while driving on that stretch of the road. The department recommends drivers be especially careful between 5 and 8 p.m. each night.

In California, a similar bird-meets-car situation has been occurring on Highway 41. The Fresno Bee reported that the roadway has become a “killing ground” for barn owls in the San Joaquin Valley.

At least 28 owls have been hit by a vehicle, the Bee reported, and it’s likely because a wet winter brought an increase of small rodents to the road.