West Nile decimates 7 species of birds across continent

[AllegroRondo]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/sciencemedicine/story/1EA99466A1E4677C862572DE001F53F6?OpenDocument

Birds that once flourished in suburban skies — robins, bluebirds, crows and others — have been devastated by West Nile virus.

According to a first-of-its-kind study, populations of seven species have had dramatic declines across the continent since West Nile emerged in the United States in 1999. The research, to be published today by the journal Nature, compared 26 years of bird breeding surveys to quantify what had been known anecdotally.

"The first couple years after West Nile Virus hit, we saw almost no crows, no blue jays," said David Faintich, 63, a bird-watcher from Olivette.

It hit the seven species — American crow, blue jay, tufted titmouse, American robin, house wren, chickadee and Eastern bluebird — hard enough to be scientifically significant.

Only the blue jay and house wren bounced back, in 2005.

[XemaSab]

1. Interesting that most of these species *are* suburban

Perhaps an unnatural concentration in suburban areas? :shrug: