Europe has 600 million fewer birds

The once ubiquitous house sparrow appears to be the hardest hit.

If you look outside now, you see a lot fewer birds than a few decades ago. That is the worrying conclusion of a new report. The study shows that over a span of just 40 years, one in six breeding birds in Europe has disappeared. Converted this means that since 1980 Europe has lost about 600 million (!) birds.

Study

The scientists analyzed 378 of the 445 native bird species in Europe. And the findings are quite worrying. The study shows that the number of European birds has decreased enormously. For example, the researchers estimate that the number of birds dropped by 17 to 19 percent between 1980 and 2017. This means that there are currently between 560 and 620 million fewer birds fluttering around.

the house sparrow

It is striking that the numbers of common species in particular have decreased. The biggest loser? The once ubiquitous house sparrow. The researchers found that since 1980, this tiny bird has lost half its population, which amounts to some 247 million birds. Its closest relative, the tree sparrow, has also been hit hard and now has to make do with about 30 million fewer specimens. Yellow wagtail numbers have fallen by a staggering 97 million, starlings have lost some 75 million birds and the skylark has plummeted by 68 million.

The researchers emphasize that the loss of common bird species is a major concern. The dominance of these species means that changes in their population size can have major consequences for the health of ecosystems. And that, in turn, can be detrimental to ourselves and the resources we depend on.

Common Species

“Common birds are now less and less common,” emphasizes Anna Staneva of the BirdLife organization. “This is especially true as the environment they depend on is being wiped out by humans. Nature has been displaced by farmland, sea and cities. Governments across Europe must set legally binding targets for nature restoration, otherwise the consequences will be severe, including for our own species.”

slower pace

According to the researchers, the lion’s share of the decline in bird numbers occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. Thanks to several drastic measures to protect bird species, the rate of decline has slowed in the last decade. This has led to an increase in the numbers of seven species of birds of prey. “Without the implementation of the guidelines, there is no doubt that the decline in many species would have been much worse,” the researchers write.

Biodiversity Crisis

However, it seems that many bird species are still fighting for survival. The findings of the study show once again conclusively that we are currently in a real biodiversity crisis. According to the researchers, there is therefore an urgent need for bird conservation measures. “This report shows loud and clear that nature is sounding the alarm,” Staneva says. “While protecting birds that are already rare or endangered has led to a number of success stories, this does not appear to be sufficient to sustain populations of abundant species.”

Action

To also save common species from extinction, therefore, requires far-reaching conservation efforts. “We need action across society to tackle the wildlife and climate crisis together,” said study leader Fiona Burns. “That means an increase in scale and ambition for nature-friendly agriculture, species protection, sustainable forestry and fisheries and a rapid expansion of the protected area network.”

So there is work to be done. Because otherwise a house sparrow in the backyard will be a thing of the past once and for all. “Our study is a wake-up call to the very real threat of extinction and of a quiet spring,” Burns says. “We must provide a strong framework that puts conservation first and at the heart of all global plans.”