3 billion fewer birds are in North America now than in 1970

[yortsed snacilbuper]

North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970, a study said Thursday, which also found significant population declines among hundreds of bird species, including those once considered plentiful.

Overall, bird populations in the United States and Canada have declined by 29% in the past 50 years, according to the study, which authors say is a sign of a widespread ecological crisis.

The findings showed that of the nearly 3 billion birds lost, most belonged to 12 bird families, including sparrows, warblers, finches and swallows. Overall, the drop was from about 10 billion birds in 1970 to about 7 billion now.

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[maxsolomon]

1. Truly awful news.

Locally, the populations that seem to be gaining ground are what I call "trash birds": Crows, Seagulls, Grackles, Pigeons. Birds that thrive in urban environments.

And yes, I know that Corvids are highly intelligent and all God's creatures are miracles.

[PSPS]

2. There used to be lots of swallows here but I haven't seen one now in at least ten years.

[maxsolomon]

3. Has to be related to the availablity of insect prey

I'm looking at the ubiquity of herbicides like Roundup. Everyone used them because they were safe...

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Large glass buildings?

Hundreds of thousands of giant glass buildings isn’t helping.

[maxsolomon]

5. It's got to be more than that.

If you look at the NYT graphics, the largest % decline is in the Great Plains.

Pesticides have to be involved.