{"id":64185,"date":"2024-09-25T14:30:32","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T18:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=64185"},"modified":"2024-09-25T14:30:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T18:30:34","slug":"in-the-tropics-a-troubling-echo-of-north-americas-bird-declines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/in-the-tropics-a-troubling-echo-of-north-americas-bird-declines\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Tropics, a Troubling Echo of North America's Bird Declines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"A cinnamon-brown and gray bird with a black throat and upright tail, stands in the forest.\" class=\"wp-image-64371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top-720x480.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/615450555-Black-faced_Antthrush-Victor_Castanho-top.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Black-faced Antthrush by <a href=\"https:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/asset\/615450555\">Victor Castanho \/ Macaulay Library<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright order-bottom\"><div class=\"article-list list-style\"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">More From Living Bird<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-autumn-2024-table-of-contents\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI-1280x960.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI-1280x960.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TOC-Autumn24-Ruby-crowned_Kinglet-Christopher_T-ML609692481-FI.jpg 1291w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" alt=\"Cute little gray and yellow bird with a white eyering looking upwards while perched on a branch.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-autumn-2024-table-of-contents\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Autumn 2024\u2014Table Of Contents<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-spring-2026-table-of-contents\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird-latest issue\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-spring-2026-table-of-contents\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine\u2014Latest Issue<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-magazine-archives\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird archives\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-magazine-archives\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine Archives<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">From the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/living-bird-autumn-2024-table-of-contents\">Autumn 2024 issue<\/a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<em>Living Bird<\/em>&nbsp;magazine.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/join.birds.cornell.edu\/page\/14522\/donate?__hstc=75100365.220461ee62b578f48bb144cf431e8850.1712607354694.1724435661653.1724440547629.145&amp;__hssc=75100365.3.1724440547629&amp;__hsfp=141023726\">Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2001, two ornithologists\u2014John Blake and Bette Loiselle\u2014headed deep into the Ecuadorian Amazon. Getting there required a day\u2019s long trek down the Napo and the Tiputini rivers into the heart of Yasun\u00ed National Park and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiputini.com\/\">Tiputini Biodiversity Station<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe boat ride was the most exhil\u00adarating experience,\u201d recalls Loiselle. \u201cThe area was so full of birds and monkeys hanging from the trees.\u201d\u00a0Sounds from antbirds, antthrushes, and leaftossers filled the air at Tiputini. Nearly everywhere they went they could hear the slowly accelerating series of hollow notes of the Striated Antthrush and the clear whistle, then stuttering trill, of the Black-faced Antthrush. More than 500 different bird species have been historically documented in this forest. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The duo, now both professors in the Wildlife and Ecology Conservation department at the University of Florida, have returned to the region every year for more than two decades to check in on the bird populations. But starting around 2011 or 2012, things started to change. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe started hearing fewer and fewer birds,\u201d says Blake. \u201cWe used to hear the diagnostic song of the Striated Antthrush all the time, but now they\u2019ve basically disappeared.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt started to get a bit depressing to watch the birds decline,\u201d says Loiselle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1190\" height=\"892\" data-id=\"64375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/John_Blake-Bette_Loiselle.jpg\" alt=\"Two people with scientific equipment in the woods.\" class=\"wp-image-64375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/John_Blake-Bette_Loiselle.jpg 1190w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/John_Blake-Bette_Loiselle-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/John_Blake-Bette_Loiselle-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/John_Blake-Bette_Loiselle-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/John_Blake-Bette_Loiselle-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1190px) 100vw, 1190px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Scientists John Blake (shown here with a field assistant) and Bette Loiselle have been studying birds at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station for more than 20 years. <em>Photo by Bette Loiselle.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1190\" height=\"892\" data-id=\"64374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/415397651-Striated_Antthrush-Jon_Irvine.jpg\" alt=\"A stripy brown and white bird with a white throat and belly and long pinkish legs stands in the woods.\" class=\"wp-image-64374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/415397651-Striated_Antthrush-Jon_Irvine.jpg 1190w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/415397651-Striated_Antthrush-Jon_Irvine-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/415397651-Striated_Antthrush-Jon_Irvine-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/415397651-Striated_Antthrush-Jon_Irvine-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/415397651-Striated_Antthrush-Jon_Irvine-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1190px) 100vw, 1190px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Striated Antthrush by <a href=\"https:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/asset\/415397651\">Jon Irvine \/ Macaulay Library<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of media attention has been paid to the staggering bird losses in North America\u2014set off by research published in the journal <em>Science <\/em>in 2019 that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"40964\">documented a 29% overall decline in breeding bird populations<\/a> in the U.S. and Canada. But in South America, there are also troubling trends quietly brewing for birds in the rainforest. A collection of long-term bird population surveys in and around the Amazon region\u2014conducted at research sites in remote and intact rainforest, the kinds of places that should be immune to population declines\u2014are exhibiting even steeper losses than the declines reported for forest birds in North America. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe thing that is troubling,\u201d says Kelly Swing, founder of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Ecuador, \u201cis that Tiputini is in a remote spot. It\u2019s not like we have a tremendous amount of defor\u00adestation or a lot of pesticides. We are in the middle of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"863\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer-1280x863.jpg\" alt=\"Two men stand by a forested river with sound recording equipment.\" class=\"wp-image-64372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer-1280x863.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer-720x485.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer-1536x1035.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer-480x323.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Tiputini-Ecuadorian-scientists-Glenn_Seeholzer.jpg 1653w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In March 2024, Cornell Lab scientists held a sound recording workshop in Tiputini with Ecuadorian ornithologists, including Luis Salagaje and Angel Arg\u00fcello M\u00e9ndez, pictured here. <em>Photo by Glenn Seeholzer.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">One of the Most Biodiverse Places on Earth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In northeastern Ecuador, nestled deep in the Amazon, lies one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Yasun\u00ed National Park is home to the Waorani people and at least two Indigenous tribes living in voluntary isolation, as well as thousands of wildlife species. Plant surveys here have found 655 species of trees, shrubs, and vines in just a single hectare\u2014almost as many as there are tree species in the entire continental U.S. A study published in the journal <em>PlosOne <\/em>in 2010 found that the <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0008767\">local diversity of amphibians, birds, mammals, and plants is higher in Yasun\u00ed<\/a> than anywhere else on Earth. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Within the park, along the Tiputini River, sits Tiputini Biodiversity Station, founded in 1995 by the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, in col\u00adlaboration with Boston University. Blake and Loiselle first arrived at Tiputini in 2001 as professors from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, looking for a place to set up a long-term research site and monitor populations of tropical birds. As soon as they arrived at the station, they knew Tiputini was the place. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo be dropped into this Amazon site with tens of kilometers of forest all around you, it was really a wonderful opportunity,\u201d says Loiselle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pair returned to their study sites at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station year after year. But in this magical hyper-biodiverse place that feels worlds apart from the plight of deforestation and habitat loss afflicting other parts of the tropics, Blake and Loiselle found populations of tropical forest birds in steep decline\u2014down nearly 50% since 2001. Using observational surveys and data logs from capturing and tagging birds using mist nets, Blake and Loiselle noted several different groups of birds were in trouble. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt least 90% of the species that we had enough data to look at are declining, and very few species have shown increases,\u201d says Loiselle. Some of the hardest hit were the insectivores, species that forage for insects on the ground and in the canopy. Terrestrial insectivores such as White-breasted Wood-Wren, Black-faced Antbird, and Spot-backed Antbird declined sharply, as did species such as White-plumed Antbird and White-cheeked Antbird that gobble up insects fleeing army ants on the forest floor. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" data-id=\"64390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/YasuniFOrest-Jay_McGowan.jpg\" alt=\"Looking up into a forest of high trees.\" class=\"wp-image-64390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/YasuniFOrest-Jay_McGowan.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/YasuniFOrest-Jay_McGowan-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/YasuniFOrest-Jay_McGowan-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/YasuniFOrest-Jay_McGowan-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/YasuniFOrest-Jay_McGowan-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The towering Tiputini forest. <em>Photo by Jay McGowan.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" data-id=\"64388\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Black-faced_Antbird-Glenn_Bartley.jpg\" alt=\"A gray bird with a black face and tail perched on a branch.\" class=\"wp-image-64388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Black-faced_Antbird-Glenn_Bartley.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Black-faced_Antbird-Glenn_Bartley-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Black-faced_Antbird-Glenn_Bartley-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Black-faced_Antbird-Glenn_Bartley-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Black-faced_Antbird-Glenn_Bartley-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Black-faced Antbird by Glenn Bartley.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs an Amazonian, it\u2019s really concerning what is happening to the birds and all of Mother Nature,\u201d wrote Geovanny Rivadeneyra, a naturalist and guide from the Indigenous Kichwa com\u00admunity of A\u00f1angu along the Napo River, in an email. \u201cWe haven\u2019t heard the songs of several terrestrial insectivores such as Scaled Antpitta, Striated Antthrush, and Rufous-capped Antthrush for the last 15 years. In all of my travels throughout the Amazon, species such as White-lored Antpitta and Thrush-like Antpitta have been decreasing to the point that they are no longer being heard.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just the insectivores that have declined,\u201d adds Blake. \u201cOther groups have declined as well.\u201d Fruit-eaters, such as toucans and aracaris, and omnivores (birds that eat insects and fruits) also showed steady declines. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"article-list alignright right list-style card-four \"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">Related Stories<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2.9BillionBirds4x3.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2.9BillionBirds4x3-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2.9BillionBirds4x3-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2.9BillionBirds4x3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2.9BillionBirds4x3-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2.9BillionBirds4x3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"graphic showing steep decline of birds since 1970\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Vanishing: More Than 1 in 4 Birds Has Disappeared in the Last 50 Years<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/home\/bring-birds-back\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-1280x720.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2-9Decline-FI-2-e1569267928433.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" alt=\"graph of 2.9 billion birds lost since 1970 in the U.S. and Canada. Graphic by Jillian Ditner\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/home\/bring-birds-back\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">We&#8217;ve Lost Nearly 3 Billion Birds Since 1970<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/how-to-fix-the-bird-declines-a-to-do-list-for-government-business-and-individuals\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WoodThrush-capitols-FI.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WoodThrush-capitols-FI-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WoodThrush-capitols-FI-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WoodThrush-capitols-FI-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WoodThrush-capitols-FI-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/WoodThrush-capitols-FI.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/how-to-fix-the-bird-declines-a-to-do-list-for-government-business-and-individuals\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">How to Fix the Bird Declines: A To-Do List for Government, Business, and Individuals<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\" data-link-to=\"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/home\/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds\/\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/56732651-Wood_Thrush-Petruzi-andSeroussi-FI.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/56732651-Wood_Thrush-Petruzi-andSeroussi-FI-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/56732651-Wood_Thrush-Petruzi-andSeroussi-FI-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/56732651-Wood_Thrush-Petruzi-andSeroussi-FI-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/56732651-Wood_Thrush-Petruzi-andSeroussi-FI-480x360.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/56732651-Wood_Thrush-Petruzi-andSeroussi-FI.jpg 837w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"7 simple things to help birds, graphic by Sarah Seroussi. Wood Thrush by John Petruzzi\/Macaulay Library.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><a class=\"article-item-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/home\/seven-simple-actions-to-help-birds\/\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<p>In June 2024, a summary of Blake\u2019s and Loiselle\u2019s 23 years of research at Tiputini was published in the journal <em>Global Ecol\u00adogy and Conservation, <\/em>under the troubling title \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2351989424001069\">Sharp declines in observation and capture rates of Amazon birds in absence of human disturbance<\/a>.\u201d Perhaps even more alarming, Tiputini is not unique\u2014similar bird declines are being reported in other protected forests of the tropics. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Panama, a team of scientists from four universities in the United States and Canada analyzed data from a 44-year study of mist-net bird surveys in an area that has been protected as part of Soberan\u00eda National Park since 1980. Their study, published in the journal <em>Proceed\u00adings of the National Academy of Sciences <\/em>in 2022, reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/full\/10.1073\/pnas.2108731119\">widespread declines of birds with different foraging strategies across 54,000 acres<\/a> of relatively intact tropical forest along the Panama Canal. Species that forage in the midstory, such as the Olive-streaked Flycatcher, or on the ground, such as the Wing-banded Antbird, were among the biggest declin\u00aders. Altogether, the authors noted 35 bird species showing declines of more than 50% from 1977 to 2020. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists in Brazil are also reporting worrisome declines among forest birds. Working in a 37,000-acre protected area (about the size of Bryce Canyon National Park), a team of scientists from Brazil, Colombia, and the United States used mist nets to resurvey bird populations at study sites that were previously surveyed in the 1980s. Their resurveys from 2008 to 2016 found declines among 21 species, particularly birds that forage for insects near the ground. According to their research, published in the journal <em>Ecol\u00adogy Letters <\/em>in 2020, the bird communities in relatively undisturbed rainforests of the Brazilian Amazon <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/ele.13628\">now have species compositions trending toward those in disturbed forests<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSpecies that started declining in abundance, some of them upwards of more than 50%, were the same species that would disappear from forest frag\u00adments due to edge effects,\u201d says Jared Wolfe, an ornithologist at Michigan Tech who worked on the study. When forests are fragmented, explains Wolfe, sunlight and wind infiltrate the forest, changing the forest microclimates and ultimately affecting insect populations and the ability of birds to find suitable climates. Wolfe thinks that these edge effects impacted forest bird species such as Rufous-bellied Antwren, Black-tailed Leaftosser, and Musician Wren\u2014all spe\u00adcies now scarcely detected or much rarer at these Amazon rainforest sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhenever you talk about declines, we always look for the guilty party, and usually the guilty party is pretty easy to identify,\u201d says Kelly Swing of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. But in the case of these puzzling bird declines in areas pro\u00adtected from deforestation and habitat loss, \u201cit\u2019s not so easy to point fingers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group well-gray is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs of Bird Declines at Remote Science Stations Across Central and South America<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"887\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2-1280x887.jpg\" alt=\"Map of Central and South America with countries and oceans noted, light and dark green indicating forest cover, and three places starred. Key indicates what the colors and places are.\" class=\"wp-image-64435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2-1280x887.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2-720x499.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2-768x532.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2-1536x1064.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2-480x333.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/SouthAmericanForestMap-smallKey-redstar2.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/DarkBlueStar-720x720.png\" alt=\"Dark blue star\" class=\"wp-image-64381\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:25px;height:25px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/DarkBlueStar-720x720.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/DarkBlueStar-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/DarkBlueStar-480x480.png 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/DarkBlueStar.png 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Soberan\u00eda National Park, Panama<\/strong><br>Mist-net surveys from 1977 to 2020 revealed that populations of 35 out of 57 understory forest bird species had declined by 50% or more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/OrangeStar.png\" alt=\"gold star\" class=\"wp-image-64383\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:25px;height:25px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/OrangeStar.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/OrangeStar-720x720.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/OrangeStar-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/OrangeStar-480x480.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador<\/strong><br>Observational and mist-net surveys showed forest bird populations decreased nearly 50% since 2001, particularly among insectivores.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/RedStar-complete.png\" alt=\"Red star\" class=\"wp-image-64434\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:25px;height:25px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/RedStar-complete.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/RedStar-complete-720x720.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/RedStar-complete-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/RedStar-complete-480x480.png 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Brazil<\/strong><br>Fourteen insect-eating, ground-dwelling bird species experienced significant population declines when resurveyed in the 2010s, compared to the 1980s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Map of Central and South America showing areas of forest cover. <\/strong>Bright green indicates intact forest landscapes*; lighter green indicates other types of forest cover. <em>Map source: based on <a href=\"https:\/\/earthenginepartners.appspot.com\/science-2013-global-forest\/download_v1.0.html\">Hansen\/UMD\/Google\/USGS\/NASA, 2013<\/a>.<\/em> <br><br>*Defined as an unbroken expanse of natural ecosystems within the zone of current forest extent, showing no signs of significant human activity and large enough that all native biodiversity could be maintained<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stark Declines in Insect Numbers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For clues as to what might be going on with tropical forest birds,<strong> <\/strong>some scientists are looking at insects. But data on tropical insects are hard to come by, so much of what is known about insect populations comes from observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the early 2000s, Swing started taking note of the insects attracted to lights near the Tiputini research station in Ecuador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEarly along it was easy to get repre\u00adsentatives of at least 10 genera of insects and usually twice that number of species. But now \u2026 if you see two genera, that\u2019s pretty good,\u201d Swing says. \u201cInsects that used to be rare are now nonexistent, and the insects that used to be common are now pretty rare.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Observations of insect numbers in a tropical forest in Costa Rica mirror Swing\u2019s experience. Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs, tropical ecologists at the University of Pennsylvania, documented <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/full\/10.1073\/pnas.2002546117\">large declines in insects in a 2020 study<\/a> published in the journal <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>. Janzen and Hallwachs monitored the insect pop\u00adulation and photographed insects coming to light traps in Costa Rica starting in 1984. The study includes a photo from 1984 that shows several thousand insects, completely filling the frame. But by 2019 on the same date and in the same location, only a few hundred insects dotted the image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1087\" height=\"861\" data-id=\"64377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2007-Daniel_Janzen.jpg\" alt=\"Insect light trap with a lot of insects.\" class=\"wp-image-64377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2007-Daniel_Janzen.jpg 1087w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2007-Daniel_Janzen-720x570.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2007-Daniel_Janzen-768x608.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2007-Daniel_Janzen-480x380.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1087px) 100vw, 1087px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A study of insect life at a light trap in Costa Rica provides an indication of insect declines. This is an image from 2007. <em>Photo courtesy of Daniel Janzen.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1087\" height=\"861\" data-id=\"64378\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2019.jpg\" alt=\"Insect trap with not a lot of insects.\" class=\"wp-image-64378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2019.jpg 1087w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2019-720x570.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2019-768x608.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Insects2019-480x380.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1087px) 100vw, 1087px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An insect trap from 2019, taken at the same spot and same time of year, showed far fewer insects. <em>Photo courtesy of Daniel Janzen.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Insect declines could be a factor in the drop-offs among insectivorous tropical forest birds, but as Blake points out, \u201cthe fact that frugivores and omnivores have also declined, it suggests that there\u2019s something else going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhether it\u2019s different impacts of cli\u00admate change, or whether the birds got hit particularly hard with the La Ni\u00f1a event and simply don\u2019t have the reproductive capacity to increase rapidly, we don\u2019t really know,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing is clear, especially to the people living in the region: \u201cThe climate is definitely changing,\u201d says Rivadeneyra. \u201cIn the summer there is a lot of rain, causing the rivers to flood, and in the rainy season there is too much sun\u2014many plants dry out and the soil cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"711\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015-1280x711.jpg\" alt=\"Three images of the same mountain view, taken in 1985, 1995 and 2015, with different cloud cover.\" class=\"wp-image-64379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015-1280x711.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015-720x400.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015-1536x853.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015-480x266.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/CloudFores-1985-1995-2015.jpg 2021w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shifting patterns of precipitation and temperatures are changing forest environments in Central and South America. Tropical ecologist Daniel Janzen used photos to document the cloud cover around the mountains of the Guanacaste Conservation Area in Costa Rica over a 20-year period. Over time the cloud layer was greatly reduced, resulting in drying forest litter, reduced stream flow, and a change in the volume and the makeup of the insect population. <em>Source: Janzen and Hallwachs. 2021. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/full\/10.1073\/pnas.2002546117\">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in Brazil, Michigan Tech orni\u00adthologist Jared Wolfe and colleagues have documented temperature and pre\u00adcipitation changes at their study sites in the Amazon. Their research, published in the journal <em>Science Advances <\/em>in 2021, showed that temperature had increased by 1\u00b0 Celsius and precipitation increased by 13% in wet seasons since 1966, while during the dry season tem\u00adperatures had increased 1.65\u00b0 Cel\u00adsius with a 15% decrease in precipitation. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While that might seem like a small change, \u201cAmazonian forests have had relatively stable climate for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cSo these birds over time have become very locally adapted to their environment and that might make them less resilient to these rapid changes in climate. And that might be one of the reasons why we see such sensitivity in some areas, like the central Amazon and the Tiputini site.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Changes in rainfall could also be affecting forests in Ecuador. Blake and Loiselle noted several severe La Ni\u00f1a events that brought more rain than nor\u00admal to the region from 2008 to 2013. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith severe La Ni\u00f1a events, there\u2019s lots and lots of rain and that can greatly impact the foraging ability of birds, par\u00adticularly insectivores,\u201d says Blake. The declines in bird populations Blake and Loiselle reported coincide with increases in La Ni\u00f1a events in Ecuador, suggesting a possible culprit. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Flavio Lehner, a climate scientist at Cornell University, La Ni\u00f1a and El Ni\u00f1o events cause a change in the sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. El Ni\u00f1os result in warmer oceans and La Ni\u00f1as in colder ocean surface temperatures. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a consequence of that, it kind of disrupts the weather around the world,\u201d says Lehner. Some places receive more rain while others receive less. But recent decades have seen a tendency towards more La Ni\u00f1a events with some persistent changes in rainfall patterns. Whether climate change is responsible for that shift towards more La Ni\u00f1as and whether it will continue, \u201cwe frankly don\u2019t know yet,\u201d Lehner says. \u201cIt\u2019s actually one of the biggest current hot topics among climate-change scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Daisy_Utitiaj_Nunink-Jay_McGowan-1280x765.png\" alt=\"A woman walks in the forest with sound recording equipment.\" class=\"wp-image-64385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Daisy_Utitiaj_Nunink-Jay_McGowan-1280x765.png 1280w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Daisy_Utitiaj_Nunink-Jay_McGowan-720x430.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Daisy_Utitiaj_Nunink-Jay_McGowan-768x459.png 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Daisy_Utitiaj_Nunink-Jay_McGowan-480x287.png 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Daisy_Utitiaj_Nunink-Jay_McGowan.png 1396w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Daisy Utitiaj Nunink, an Ecuadorian ornithologist who participated in the Cornell Lab&#8217;s sound workshop. <em>Photo by Jay McGowan.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Listening for Answers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While scientists may have different ideas about the factors in Neotropical forest bird declines, there\u2019s uniform agreement on what\u2019s needed to get at the root causes\u2014more data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need to be able to scale data collection and trust it,\u201d says Glenn See\u00adholzer, an ornithologist who has been studying birds in the Amazon for the past two decades. He says audio surveys of bird calls and songs provide a comple\u00admentary methodology for monitoring populations, along with mist-netting and visual counts. \u201cIn the Amazon you can detect around 90% of what\u2019s there just by closing your eyes. There\u2019s no place in the world I think is better suited to bioacous\u00adtic monitoring than the Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today Seeholzer is curator of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology\u2019s Macaulay Library, which houses the world\u2019s biggest collection of bird audio recordings. Recently Seeholzer joined up with a coworker, Macaulay Library archivist and sound recordist Jay McGowan, and Juan Francisco Herrera Cueva, a researcher at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, to explore the possibilities of developing avian monitoring tools for the Amazon focused on sound. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monitoring bird populations using sound is a great way to collect a lot of data over large areas, and that type of data is sorely needed, says Seeholzer. The first step, he says, is building \u201ca reference sound archive for Amazonian birds that will allow us to train Merlin Bird ID to identify the birds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-style-grid-3 wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"679\" height=\"1000\" data-id=\"64389\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TiputiniRiver-John_Blake-2.jpg\" alt=\"A misty river scene.\" class=\"wp-image-64389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TiputiniRiver-John_Blake-2.jpg 679w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/TiputiniRiver-John_Blake-2-480x707.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 679px) 100vw, 679px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view of the Tiputini River, Ecuador. <em>Photo courtesy of John Blake.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" data-id=\"64387\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/276425771-White-plumed_Antbird-Chris_Fischer-2.jpg\" alt=\"A black and chestnut bird with a large crest of white feathers and forehead.\" class=\"wp-image-64387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/276425771-White-plumed_Antbird-Chris_Fischer-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/276425771-White-plumed_Antbird-Chris_Fischer-2-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/276425771-White-plumed_Antbird-Chris_Fischer-2-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/276425771-White-plumed_Antbird-Chris_Fischer-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/276425771-White-plumed_Antbird-Chris_Fischer-2-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">White-plumed Antbird by <a href=\"https:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/asset\/276425771\">Chris Fischer \/ Macaulay Library<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" data-id=\"64386\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/141698721-White-breasted_Wood-Wren-fernando_Burgalin_Sequeria.jpg\" alt=\"A gray and brown bird with a black and white stripy head, perches on a branch.\" class=\"wp-image-64386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/141698721-White-breasted_Wood-Wren-fernando_Burgalin_Sequeria.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/141698721-White-breasted_Wood-Wren-fernando_Burgalin_Sequeria-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/141698721-White-breasted_Wood-Wren-fernando_Burgalin_Sequeria-240x180.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/141698721-White-breasted_Wood-Wren-fernando_Burgalin_Sequeria-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/141698721-White-breasted_Wood-Wren-fernando_Burgalin_Sequeria-480x360.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">White-breasted Wood-Wren by <a href=\"https:\/\/macaulaylibrary.org\/asset\/141698721\">Fernando Burgalin Sequeria \/ Macaulay Library<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Merlin Bird ID is the free smartphone app from the Cornell Lab that can identify birds from a brief audio recording. But before Merlin\u2019s AI algorithms can identify bird sounds, the app needs a reference database of at least 100 recordings per bird species\u2014representing the complete vocal repertoire of each species. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently the Macaulay Library holds around 38,000 recordings from Amazo\u00adnian birds, which means around 110,000 more sound recordings are needed before Merlin can be used to identify all 1,500 bird species in the Amazon. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To build the Amazonian bird sound collection, the Macaulay Library and Universidad San Francisco de Quito conducted a weeklong sound-recording workshop for 12 Ecuadorian birders and ornithologists. At the end of the work\u00adshop, participants banded together to create the Ecuador Bioacoustics Club, the first of its kind in the country. While this project is in its infancy, Seeholzer hopes in coming years that the Cornell Lab can work with partners in the Amazon to set up arrays of automatic audio recording units to document and monitor avian diversity of the Amazon, building off the reference library in the Macaulay Library. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need this data to monitor the bird populations of the Amazon at a scale that will convince stakeholders and policy\u00admakers at all levels to take action where needed and assess the impact of those actions,\u201d says Seeholzer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While it\u2019s easy to get depressed about all the data on Neotropical forest bird declines, many ornithologists say they have no intention of giving up. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to write obituaries for these birds,\u201d says Wolfe, the Michigan Tech researcher in the Brazilian Amazon. \u201cI want to understand the mechanisms to try to better understand what components of the forest constitute climate refugia for birds, and prioritize those for protection.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\" id=\"hs-cta-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\">\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da.png\"  alt=\"subscribe to Living Bird magazine\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To that end, Wolfe says he is working with colleagues throughout the tropics at long-term research sites: \u201cWe\u2019re in the process of harmonizing the data sets, bringing in the latest, greatest remotely sensed models and estimates of climate to really start understanding how climate is affecting tropical birds at scale across multiple sites.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And Wolfe says he is optimistic that getting the word out about tropical bird declines and increasing collaboration among governments, scientists, and the public will spur broader solutions: \u201cThe fact that birds are responding so negatively to slight changes in climate should be really alarming for biodiver\u00adsity protection globally.\u201d &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Lehner, the Cornell climate scientist, there\u2019s still time to act. Some of the worst-case climate scenarios don\u2019t appear to be coming to fruition, he says. But \u201cat the same time the super-optimistic scenarios where we solve everything by 2050 have become less likely because we\u2019re clearly not moving fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur chance of reducing warming ultimately depends very much on what humans do,\u201d says Lehner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Long-term studies from remote science stations in South and Central America are showing the same alarming trends of forest bird losses that have been documented across North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":64369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":64177,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"Living Bird Autumn 2024&mdash;Table Of 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