"The Usual Birds" Are Disappearing: Familiar Birds Are More at Risk Than Rare Ones — A Warning on the Accelerating Decline of Bird Populations

"The Usual Birds" Are Disappearing: Familiar Birds Are More at Risk Than Rare Ones — A Warning on the Accelerating Decline of Bird Populations

On a spring morning, the chirping you hear when you open the window. The small birds you encounter as if by habit on your walk. We assume these are part of the "usual scenery." However, now, these "usual birds" are not just decreasing but are declining at an accelerating rate—such unsettling signs have emerged from the latest research and reports.


At the core of this topic is the assertion that "the decline in bird populations is accelerating." The research introduced in the report tracked the decline of birds from 1987 to 2021, exploring the characteristics of regions where the decline is particularly significant. As a result, it was suggested that the warmer regions, which are also experiencing further warming, are declining more rapidly , and that indicators of intensive agriculture repeatedly appear as strong predictors of "accelerated decline" .
However, it is important to note that what the research shows is "correlation" and not "causation." Other factors, such as migratory routes and wintering grounds, may also be involved, and the report cautions against jumping to conclusions in search of a single culprit.


Nevertheless, the weight of this conclusion is that it overturns the conventional image of "rare birds being in danger." Recent large-scale analyses emphasize the pattern that rather than "rare species," familiar birds like robins, sparrows, and blackbirds, which were once abundant, are rapidly declining . Since familiar birds have large populations, their decline results in a significant total loss.

 
Moreover, these familiar birds are providers of "ecosystem services." They perform a large amount of "invisible work" such as seed dispersal, pest control, and pollination, and their decline impacts not only nature but also the foundation of agriculture and our lives.


So, why is it "accelerating"? The key lies in the dual pressures of land use and climate. In intensive agricultural lands, the large-scale monoculture, homogenization of fields, and the use of pesticides and herbicides are likely to progress. This leads to a decrease in insects, which serve as food, and the loss of grasslands and hedgerows that provide nesting materials and hiding places, causing a chain reaction of impacts on breeding and foraging. The study's result, which shows that "agricultural intensity is a strong predictor," suggests that these "changes from the ground" may be affecting birds.

 
On the other hand, warming affects a wide area through heat stress, drought, mismatched breeding timings, and seasonal fluctuations in food resources. Moreover, the trend that "the warmer and more warming regions are experiencing greater declines" aligns with the intuition that climate factors may be in the background.


When this type of news spreads on social media, reactions typically split into two. One is the shared feeling of "I knew it," and the other is the urge to definitively state "this is the cause." This case was no exception.


For example, on Reddit, the narrative of "if insects disappear, everything above (birds) will also disappear" stood out, emphasizing the collapse from the bottom of the food chain. The narrative starting with insect decline is intuitive and easy to understand. However, it is also easy to oversimplify. How to handle the reality of multiple overlapping factors such as climate, agriculture, urbanization, light pollution, window collisions, and invasive predators will determine the quality of the next discussion.

 
In another comment, experiences like seeing many dead birds in the city and anger over habitat loss due to landscape-oriented logging were shared. These "local feelings" are on a different axis from scientific verification but have the power to create societal awareness of the crisis as a sense of field experience.


On Lemmy, the article's key points such as "birds in the U.S. are not just declining but declining faster," "intensive agriculture," and "greater declines in warm and warming regions" were quoted, and the essence of researcher comments that "agricultural intensity indicators were the best predictors" was shared. On social media, such "short summaries" fuel dissemination because a few lines of explanation move people more than long papers.

  

 
Similarly, on X, sharing by headline progresses, and the phrase "bird loss is accelerating" circulates as a warning.


However, one thing to be cautious about here is that social media discussions tend to assert "causes," but researchers are cautious. While correlations are visible, additional analysis is needed to confirm causation. Conversely, "research to pin down causation" and "measures that can be taken immediately" are separate , and the latter can be started from areas with high certainty.


In fact, there are success stories in bird conservation. Some species have returned through the accumulation of policies, regulations, and protection, such as the recovery of raptors. Therefore, this discussion should be read not as a "declaration of the end," but as a warning that "the time for course correction is passing."

 
The widely referenced estimate that "about 3 billion birds have been lost" in the U.S. and Canada has been compounded by "acceleration," raising the sense of crisis another notch.


So, what should be done? If we are to connect the discussion to reality, the focus returns to "land use." In the introduction of Princeton University's research, changes in land use are emphasized as a major factor, and the point that the decline of familiar birds leads to the loss of ecosystem services is discussed.

 
As for policies, there are many measures that can be taken, such as restoring habitats (grasslands, wetlands, hedgerows, forest edges) around farmlands, reducing reliance on pesticides, addressing window collisions in urban areas, reviewing nighttime lighting, and controlling the outdoor roaming of pet cats. Climate measures are also necessary, but the more "locally effective" measures are accumulated, the more room for recovery in the short to medium term.


This is not someone else's problem from Japan's perspective either. Migratory birds cross borders, and climate change and farmland intensification are progressing in the same direction. The pessimism and anger spreading on social media can sometimes be extreme. However, there is a moment when extreme emotions are the only thing that helps. That is when they make us realize that what we thought was "normal" is not.


Before the morning chirping disappears. What we may need to reconsider is not the birds themselves, but the "ground design" that supports the landscape where birds can live.


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