Window strikes kill hundreds of millions of birds annually in North America alone. Simple, inexpensive interventions dramatically reduce mortality and represent a major welfare opportunity.
Window strikes cause both immediate death and delayed mortality from injuries including brain trauma and internal bleeding. They represent a large-scale, largely preventable source of bird suffering. The good news is that the most effective solutions are simple and low-cost: applying patterns to glass that make it visible to birds while remaining attractive to humans. Building codes increasingly incorporate bird-safe glass requirements.