Beyond city limits
While the blame for bird collisions is often concentrated on tall buildings, skyscrapers are only part of the equation. According to a statistic from the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), “Most collisions take place during the day, and almost half occur at home windows; low-rise buildings account for almost all the rest. Because of their relative rarity, buildings over 11 stories cause only 0.1 percent of all building collisions in the United States.”1
Further, tall buildings, buildings with green balconies and rooftops, and wide buildings with large expanses of glass cause enough bird collisions to make bird-friendly glazing a priority for all levels of architecture, from suburban homes to city skyscrapers.
Dangerous migration flyways
Bird migration patterns occur worldwide, with eight major migratory pathways through the Pacific Americas, Central Americas, Atlantic Americas, East Atlantic, Black Sea-Mediterranean, East Asia-East Africa, Central Asia, and East Asia-Australia. However, even without these migratory paths, birds residing in the same location all year are just as much at risk of glass collisions.
Typically, birds’ encounters with glass are fatal, as they have weak skeletal systems and the impact at full flight can be crushing. Birds tend to collide with glass at high speeds and their small bodies, composed of hollow bones, leave them vulnerable to injury or usually, a fatality. Healthy and mature birds are just as likely to collide with windows as young, vulnerable ones.
Bird testing facilities
With the adoption of bird-friendly glazing in its infancy, testing and experiment facilities are also evolving. Although interest in developing more test sites is growing, manufacturers in North America currently have only a few options to test their products. Since live birds are used in the process, it is highly specialized and requires specially trained experts to conduct testing while ensuring bird safety. To meet new building requirements for sustainability and eco-friendly products, manufacturers have teamed up with ornithologists, who study and understand how birds live and adapt to their surroundings.
