Biologists have studied the statistics of bird collisions with windows. An article about this was published on PEERJ.
Collisions with glass windows of buildings, transparent canopies, noise barriers and fences are one of the main anthropogenic sources of bird mortality. Despite the frequency of the phenomenon, scientists aren’t clear on what exactly is associated with a bird getting into a window and how deadly it is.
To find out, the authors from the University of the American West installed an automatic camera that works in motion near the house. They recorded and analyzed 29 collisions and nine close misses. As a result, it was possible to confirm the hypothesis that the outcome of the collision depends on the speed of the bird and the angle of the collision – the most dangerous were hits at an angle of 90 degrees.
Of the 29 crashes recorded during the study, only two resulted in sudden death. After 23 collisions, the bird flew away without a trace. It is believed that some of these birds may later die from their wounds. This finding has implications for assessing the impact of bird strikes on windows on the entire population, as the frequency of bird strikes can be underestimated. Additionally, experiments disproved the assumption that birds tend to fly into large windows.
The authors hope that continued research on this problem will make it possible to develop windows that can be seen with the eyes of birds.