Silence Of The Songbirds

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.