Window strikes kill hundreds of millions of birds annually in the US alone, making building design one of the highest-impact interventions available for wild bird welfare.
Window strikes represent one of the most overlooked causes of mass bird suffering - each of the hundreds of millions of annual strike casualties in North America alone experiences acute trauma, pain, and often prolonged dying from internal injuries. The solution is well-understood and increasingly affordable: applying deterrent patterns or UV-reflective materials to vulnerable glazed surfaces. At the individual, building, and policy level, prevention is straightforward and highly effective. Building codes requiring bird-safe glazing in new construction would prevent an enormous amount of annual suffering.