Up to 1 billion birds die from window strikes annually in North America alone — one of the largest preventable sources of bird mortality, causing acute suffering and significant population impacts.
Window strikes cause acute suffering in a very high proportion of affected birds. Even birds that appear to have merely stunned themselves frequently have internal injuries — brain hemorrhage, internal bleeding, fractured skulls — that cause death over hours to days. The welfare case for prevention is therefore strong: each strike avoided prevents not just a potential death but the suffering of the trauma itself and the prolonged dying that often follows. The solutions are technically mature and cost-effective, particularly for new construction — bird-safe glass adds minimally to building costs when specified at design stage. The barrier is primarily awareness: most building owners do not know their windows are killing birds, and most architects do not specify bird-safe glass because clients do not request it.