Some of the world’s most common bird species have suffered big population declines in the last few decades due to habitat loss, invasive species, industrial agriculture, and logging, says a new report from BirdLife International. The report found that in the last 25 years, some 45 percent of Europe’s common bird species have been in decline, as have over 80 percent of Australia’s wading bird species. Populations of 20 common North American birds have declined by more than half in the last 40 years, and in Asia, the population of once-common white-rumped vultures has crashed almost entirely due to widespread use of drugs for cattle. “People love birds and notice when they start to disappear from fields and hedgerows. They ask why numbers are falling,” said Mark Avery of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. “The answer is [humans’] impact on the global environment through the intensification of farming and fishing, our role in the spread of invasive species, logging, and the replacement of natural forest with plantations.”
