Dallas Is One of the Most Dangerous US Cities for Migrating Birds, Study Finds

The Dallas skyline, with its bright lights, is an impressive sight for residents and travelers, but for birds, it could be deadly. Dallas is the third-most dangerous U.S. city for birds during spring and fall migration, according to a new study from Cornell University. Chicago led the nation and Houston took the second spot. It’s estimated that 600 million birds die annually from building collisions. In urban areas where buildings and streetlights create substantial light pollution, birds are more likely to be attracted to and disoriented by light and crash into buildings, the study found.The study did not provide figures for how many birds die annually in each city."Those three cities are uniquely positioned in the heart of North America's most trafficked aerial corridors," Kyle Horton, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the study's lead author, told the Cornell Chronicle. "This, in combination with being some of the largest cities in the U.S., makes them a serious threat to the passage of migrants, regardless of season."  Continue reading...