Building collisions kill 1B birds every year in U.S.

Some 1 billion birds die every year in the United States from striking buildings. In new research published recently in PLOS ONE, scientists examined efforts to rehabilitate birds involved in building collisions in the northeastern U.S. Examining 3,100 collisions involving 152 different birds, researchers found that 60% of birds taken to rehabilitation centers died during care. Most studies estimating bird deaths from building collisions only take into account carcasses. Scientists conducting this new research believe those numbers may be leaving out birds that die later. “Even under the best care conditions provided by wildlife rehabilitators, 60% of collision victims ultimately died from their injuries,” said the lead author of the study, Ar Kornreich of Fordham University, in a press release. “This indicates that birds who appear stunned or fly away after a collision are far more likely to die than previously thought.”

Read more at American Bird Conservancy.