WATCH: Birds’ unusual behavior hours before deadly earthquake in Turkey

Turkey has been hit by one of the most severe earthquakes in its history as more than 5,000 have been killed, leaving tens of thousands injured, on Monday morning.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 centred in Pazarcik district jolted the country and hit several provinces, including Gaziantep, Sanliurf, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Malatya, Osmaniye, Hatay, and Kilis.

Meanwhile, a video featuring lots of birds in Turkey has been going viral on the internet, which shows their unusual behaviour hours before the earthquake. The video, shared by a federal news and broadcasting agency named avia.pro, shows birds calling and flocking unusually, while being in a visibly agitated state. Check out the video.

Notably, birds possess highly attuned senses, which allow them to detect changes in air pressure, sound waves or other physical phenomena associated with a wide range of disasters (including earthquakes).  

According to experts, detection of such changes often triggers instinctual responses among them, such as increased agitation, restlessness and even migration to escape the danger zone.