Birds of Europe

Safet Halil holds a stork in his farm backyard. He found five of the stranded birds, took them home and lit a stove to warm them up, before feeding them fish. Villagers come to the rescue after icy wings ground hundreds of migrating birdsWhat would you do if you encountered scores of distressed storks covered in ice lying in a snow-covered field? In Bulgaria, people have been taking them home. A cold snap in the north-east of the country has stranded hundreds of the migra ... Read more

Authors of report on bird declines say intensive farming and pesticides could turn Europe’s farmland into a desert that ultimately imperils all humansThe “catastrophic” decline in French farmland birds signals a wider biodiversity crisis in Europe which ultimately imperils all humans, leading scientists have told the Guardian. A dramatic fall in farmland birds such as skylarks, whitethroats and ortolan bunting in France was revealed by two studies this week, with the spread of neonicotinoid pesticides ... Read more

For many species of migratory birds, it seems that the lure of bright lights and big cities might be too difficult to resist - with potentially deadly consequences. A study led by wildlife ecologist Jeffrey Buler from the University of Delaware in the US, has found that brightly lit urban areas divert nocturnal migratory birds away from country areas full of food and shelter and into suburbs and CBDs where resources are often scarce. Some birds, too, suffer an even worse fate, fly ... Read more