Study: North American Bird Population Falls 3 Billion Since 1970

[Judi Lynn]

By VOA News
September 19, 2019 11:39 PM

According to a study, there are 3 billion fewer wild birds in North America than in 1970.
If the skies above North America seem quieter, it’s because of the massive drop in the bird population in the past 50 years.

A report in the journal Science says there are 3 billion fewer birds in the United States, Canada and Mexico than 1970 — a 29% drop.

Conservationists call it a widespread ecological crisis.

“One of the scary things about the results is that it is happening right under our eyes. We might not even notice it until it is too late,” lead author of the study Kenneth Rosenberg of Cornell University says.

More than 90% of the losses were among 12 species with the common house sparrow at the top of the list.

The experts blame the disappearance of natural meadows and grasslands in favor of farmland for the drop.

They also say pesticides are killing the insects that many birds use for food.

More:
https://www.voanews.com/americas/study-north-american-bird-population-falls-3-billion-1970

[KT2000]

1. Sparrows, robins,

and swallows are hardly in my yard anymore. I used to watch how they used the air, land and plants of my yard to eat - sharing space. Silent Spring?

[tecelote]

2. Remember when you had to clean the bugs off your windshield?

When was the last time you had to do that?

'Looks like poisoning the land wasn't such a good idea after all.