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What's REALLY killing all the birds?

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What's REALLY killing all the birds?

It's Okay To Be Smart
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0:00- You may have gotten wind,
0:01the turbines like these are killing all the birds,
0:05so wind power's bad, but how accurate is that?
0:08Yes, wind turbine collisions account for somewhere
0:10between 140,000 to around 680,000 bird deaths each year.
0:15Mainly small migrating songbirds.
0:16And that's why the people who plan
0:18where wind turbines go work to study
0:20and avoid bird migration roots,
0:21sometimes even turn off wind turbines
0:23during peak migration times.
0:25Okay, that's not nothing
0:26but those wind turbine numbers pale in comparison
0:28to how many other bird deaths we are responsible for.
0:31Around 6 million birds crash into communication towers
0:34like the ones your phone's talking to you right now.
0:35These towers are tall.
0:36They shine lights in the night sky,
0:38which can disorient songbirds traveling at night.
0:40And up to 50 million birds get tangled
0:42in overhead electricity lines each year,
0:44with about 5 million getting electrocuted by 'em.
0:46About 72 million birds get poisoned each year
0:49by things like pesticides we use to protect our crops,
0:52or lead poisoning from spent ammunition,
0:54swallowed by scavenger birds feeding on carcasses.
0:56And more than a billion birds die every year
0:59from crashing into big glass buildings or household windows
1:02or other confusing glass things we keep putting everywhere.
1:04I guess it's clear, you know, what do you expect?
1:06But you know who the real killers are,?
1:08Domesticated cats.
1:10Yes, more than 3 billion birds,
1:12billion with a b,
1:14get killed by household kitties or feral cats every year.
1:17That's almost one feline bird murder
1:19for every two humans on Earth.
1:21"Not my cat," I hear you saying.
1:23And to that I say, "Yes."
1:24Even your cat.
1:26Cute, but also deadly murder machines.
1:29Anything that kills wild birds is not good.
1:30But it seems like if you want to save the most birds,
1:33maybe we should be talking about cats instead.
1:35Don't ask me though, I'm a dog guy.
1:37Follow me for more cool science videos.