What is a bird's life worth to you?

So why should we care if birds hit windows?

It’s an issue of ecology. Birds perform valuable ecological services such as seed dispersal, pollination and pest control.

It’s an issue of conservation. A number of the species regularly killed are species at risk. Window collisions are an unnatural cause of death that takes both the strong and the weak, and it is happening on a scale and at a rate that cannot be sustained.

It’s an issue of animal welfare. Building collisions are an unnecessary, easily mitigated cause of mass death and suffering.

It’s an issue of public health. We recently came through a world-changing pandemic. Avian flu is threatening to follow on the heels of Covid and has already killed untold numbers of wild birds and mammals around the world. Any measure we can take to reduce people’s exposure to dead wildlife is worth pursuing.

It’s even an issue of economics. Singapore is known for its success in supporting its urban wildlife. While it may not be a bird-tourism magnet like Taiwan or Costa Rica, the relatively high diversity of birdlife here must surely be of note for many visitors. There is a financial incentive to preserve that diversity and to show that we care.

Lastly but not least, it is an issue of kindness. Why not save lives and alleviate suffering, if it can be done relatively easily and cheaply? Why not make a tiny compromise on an unobstructed view through your window, if it will save a bird from hurtling headlong into solid glass?

Please join me and others  in the quest for bird-safe buildings.

When we begin to care about creatures that most people think are lowly, we become better people. We weave ourselves more tightly into the tapestry of the world around us, and we arm ourselves for the fight to save the world.

—Rosemary Mosco, A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird