Silence Of The Songbirds

How We Are Losing the World's Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them

Bridget Stutchbury

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9780006395775
• eBook ISBN:
  9781554689293
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Environmental Conservation & Protection
• Index: Biological Sciences

Migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may have already lost almost half the songbirds that filled the skies only 40 years ago. Following the birds on their 10,000-kilometre migratory journey, Bridget Stutchbury looks at the most threatening factors in their extinction, from pesticides, still a major concern decades after Rachel Carson first raised the alarm, to the destruction of vital habitat; from the bright lights and structures in our cities—which are a minefield for migrating birds—to climate change. We may well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. We won't only be missing their cheery calls, we'll be missing a vital part of our ecosystem.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• 1 Paradise not yet Lost The Tanagers and Warblers of Gamboa, Panama
• 2 Canaries in the Mine Songbirds and Our Ecosystem
• 3 The Breeding Bird Survey Taking a Census of Migrating Birds
• 4 Birds in the Rainforest The Effects of Deforestation and Fragmentation
• 5 Coffee with a Conscience Preserving Bird Habitats, One Cup of Coffee at a Time
• 6 Falling from the Sky The Ongoing Scourge of Pesticides
• 7 Bright Lights, Big Danger Small-Town and Big-City Hazards to Migrating Songbirds
• 8 Stalking The Songbirds Cowbirds, Cats, and Other Predators
• 9 Living on the Edge Birds Need Not Just Homes But Neighbourhoods
• Epilogue Answering the Cry of the Songbirds
• Sources
• Index
• Acknowledgements
• Praise
• Copyright
• About the Publisher