Silence of the Songbirds

Science News, July 28, 2007

SILENCE OF THE SONGBIRDS Bridget Stutchbury

According to some estimates, the skies are missing up to half the songbirds that lived just 40 years ago. That disappearance means that people have fewer bird songs to enjoy, and more important, it spells potential disaster for the world's ecosystems and the human population. Stutchbury, a professor of biology, examines the reasons behind the birds' disappearance, elaborates on the consequences of fewer songbirds, and outlines some of the things that people can do to stem the tide of bird extinction. She documents how birds such as the once-numerous passenger pigeon went extinct in an evolutionary blink of an eye because of deforestation, how eagles suffered as a result of the use of DDT and other pesticides, and how the disappearance of migrant birds is affecting ecological diversity in the rainforests. Some of the measures she proposes for saving songbirds include drinking shade-grown coffee from plantations that provide birds' habitats, reevaluating the use of tall communications towers, and simply keeping household pets indoors. Walker, 2007, 256 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $24.95.