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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Brad Holyman-Sigal stated on February 26, 2024 in a press release: “Nearly a quarter million birds in New York City, and more than one billion across the country, die each year from collisions with buildings.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-true/4ac7c61540eff5211f6a04d98a6bc93a.jpg.\\") ![\\"mostly- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Environment * Animals * Urban * New York * Brad Holyman-Sigal ![\\"A](\\" A Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco, who escaped from the Central Park Zoo, shown in a tree in New York\'s Central Park about a year before his February 2024 death. (AP) ![\\"Jefrey](\\" By Jefrey Canova March 24, 2024 ![\\"Ciaran](\\" By Ciaran Conneely March 24, 2024 # How many birds die in building strikes in New York City and the U.S.? #### If Your Time is short * Estimating the number of bird deaths is difficult, and even the best academic attempts have described broad ranges. However, published data supports both Holyman-Sigal’s number for New York City and his number for the U.S. as a whole. * The New York City number is a decade old, but experts say that more buildings in the city means that the old estimate could be low. * Our mission: Help you be an informed participant in democracy. Learn more. See the sources for this fact-check As New York state legislators weigh tougher laws on building design and outdoor lighting, one state senator cited the harm to birds caused by building collisions in New York City and beyond. In February, Flaco, a male Eurasian eagle-owl, died from crashing into a Manhattan building. Flaco had attracted local and national attention after escaping from the Central Park Zoo and surviving in the wild despite having been raised in captivity. State Sen. Brad Holyman-Sigal, D-Manhattan, supports two bills that would protect birds from collisions: S.7663, which would regulate outdoor night lighting, and S.7098, which would require certain state-owned buildings to be modified to reduce bird deaths. Committees are considering the bills. On Feb. 26, days after Flaco’s death become public, Holyman-Sigal said in a statement that \"nearly a quarter million birds in New York City, and more than one billion across the country, die each year from collisions with buildings.\" We found that published research supports this estimate of birth deaths. However, experts cautioned that this is a tricky statistic to calculate, and the data that Holyman-Sigal’s office cited to support his statement is about a decade old. What does the data show? Holyman-Sigal’s numbers for New York City stem from data collected by NYC Audubon, an environmental group devoted to protecting birds and bird habitats. Dustin Partridge, the group’s director of conservation and science, said that collision monitoring efforts reported between 90,000 and 243,000 birds dying from collisions every year in New York City. Holyman-Sigal’s figure resides on the upper end of that range, and it was published in 2014 based on 2013 data, making it just more than a decade old. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 28, 2024 in a press conference The proposal to put golf courses, hotels in Florida state parks “was something that was leaked. … a lot of that stuff was half-baked and was not ready for prime time.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 However, Partridge said that this range could be low, as the city’s building count has expanded during the past decade. Today, New York City has more glass than it did in 2013, Partridge said, potentially lowering bird survival rates. As for the national figure, that’s well within the range of a recent Wilson Journal of Ornithology paper co-authored by Daniel Klem Jr., a professor of biology at Muhlenberg College. That article said that nationally, 621 million to 2 billion birds die annually in the U.S. from collisions, with potentially billions more dying similarly worldwide. According to that paper, half of bird-window collisions leave no evidence of a strike, potentially producing artificially lower numbers for deadly collisions. Scott Loss, a professor of global change ecology and management at Oklahoma State University, said such estimates are broadly in line with those in a 2014 journal article he helped write. Still, Joel Best, a University of Delaware sociology professor who has written about bird strike estimation, cautioned against trusting estimates of a topic that is so hard to track. Humans can\'t monitor all birds, he said. Although a large number of bird collisions surely occur, he added, bird welfare advocates have an incentive \"to exaggerate the size of their social problems,\" Best said. Our ruling Holyman-Sigal said, \"Nearly a quarter million birds in New York City, and more than one billion across the country, die each year from collisions with buildings.\" Estimating the number of bird deaths is difficult, and even the best academic attempts have described broad ranges. However, published data supports both Holyman-Sigal’s number for New York City and his number for the U.S. as a whole. The New York City number is a decade old, but experts say that more buildings and glass mean that the old estimate could be low. We rate the statement Mostly True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources New York state Senate, \"Legislators, Advocates Rename Statewide Bird Safe Buildings Act the \"FLACO Act,\" Feb. 26, 2024 New York state Senate, S.7663 and S.7098, accessed March 15, 2024 The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Evidence, consequences, and angle of strike of bird–window collisions, accessed March 15, 2024 Oxford Academic, Bird–building collisions in the United States: Estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability, accessed March 15, 2024 Email Interview with Dustin Partridge, NYC Audubon Director of Conservation and Science, March 8, 2024 Email Interview with Scott Loss, professor of global change ecology and management at Oklahoma State University, March 8, 2024 Email Interview with Daniel Klem Jr., professor of biology at Muhlenberg College, March 7, 2024 Email interview with Joel Best, sociology professor at the University of Delaware, March 12, 2024 Statement to PolitiFact from Brad Holyman-Sigal’s office, March 7, 2024 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Jefrey Canova ![](\\" ![](\\" Brad Holyman-Sigal stated on February 26, 2024 in a press release: “Nearly a quarter million birds in New York City, and more than one billion across the country, die each year from collisions with buildings.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Jefrey Canova • March 24, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Linda Rosenthal stated on February 6, 2024 in a quote in a news article: “Each year, more than $1 billion is stolen from” workers in New York state through wage theft. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Jefrey Canova • February 21, 2024 ### How many birds die in building strikes in New York City and the U.S.? * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sam Brown stated on August 28, 2024 in a campaign appearance: Proposed Nevada constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights would put “essentially no limit on access to abortion.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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Nearly a quarter million birds in New York City and more than one billion across the country die each year from collisions with buildings