Wild Bird Collision and Glass Buildings

Glass buildings in urban areas cause massive bird mortality from window strikes, with building design standards increasingly incorporating bird-safe glazing requirements.

Key Facts

Mirrored and transparent glass buildings are invisible barriers to birds
Reflections of sky and vegetation are the primary cause of confusion
Bird-safe glass includes fritted patterns, UV-reflective coatings, and external screens
Some cities including San Francisco have mandatory bird-safe building standards
The Fatal Light Awareness Program FLAP documents bird mortality at individual buildings

Welfare Considerations

Window strikes cause immediate death or severe trauma including brain injury, internal bleeding, and fractures. Survivors that appear to recover often die within hours from delayed injury. Building design standards that incorporate bird-safe glazing prevent this mortality at source. Retrofitting existing buildings with external screens or UV-reflective film addresses the problem in existing structures. Urban planning that requires bird-safe design protects millions of individual birds annually.

What You Can Do

Advocate for bird-safe building design standards in planning policy
Apply bird-safe treatments to problem windows in your home or office
Support campaigns monitoring bird mortality at buildings
Share information about bird-safe glass with architects and building owners
Learn about bird-safe building standards to advocate for their adoption locally