When they're not busy taking down American commercial planes, the birds of New York City have a much more one-sided challenge to their livelihood - tall, glass buildings.
The New York Times reports that the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMa), the Jacob K Javits Convention Center, and Bellevue Hospital Center are the "three deadliest buildings in New York for bird collisions," citing numbers gathered from Project Safe Flight, an online database tracking bird deaths run by the New York City Audubon Society.
With all the new construction going up around town featuring glass as a primary architectural object (it's a "common feature of green architecture, says the Times), these bird deaths are only going to continue to increase.
But fear not, bird lovers, there are a few things you can do. NYC Audubon recently published bird-safe building guidelines in a "55-page manual for architects, landscape designers, engineers," and more, to help everyone from the policy makers those in the design industry. Certain manufacturers also make sticky screens to place over your windows, making them look less like open sky to incoming birds.
