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West Nile Turns Down Volume on Songbirds

Scientists hear trouble in quieter North American backyards

By Sarah Levy,  Newser User

Posted May 17, 2007 1:44 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The West Nile virus is responsible for a major decline in North American bird populations, and the sudden quiet speaks volumes to environmental scientists. Beyond a lack of birdsong, a new National Zoo study reports, the decimation signals far-reaching ecological problems that have emerged since the mosquito-borne virus appeared on the continent in 1999.

The new analysis is significant because it correlates the incidence of human infection and the drop in the population of common songbirds, the Washington Post reports. And the repercussions sound like something out of Silent Spring: disruptions in the food chain and seed-dispersal systems, implications for international commerce, even the possibility of species collapse.

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A male song sparrow sings a response to a song Chris Templeton played from a recording. Male sparrows try to protect their territory when they hear a song or a call from another bird.
A male song sparrow sings a response to a song Chris Templeton played from a recording. Male sparrows try to protect their territory when they hear a song or a call from another bird.   (KRT Photos)
A blue jay is shown on the ground in South Easton, Mass. in this 2004 file photo. Birds that had been the mainstays of suburban skies - including the robins of spring, the bluebirds of happiness and especially the scavenging crows - have been decimated by West Nile Virus, a...
A blue jay is shown on the ground in South Easton, Mass. in this 2004 file photo. Birds that had been the mainstays of suburban skies - including the robins of spring, the bluebirds of happiness and especially...   (Associated Press)
In a file photo young house wrens wait for food as they huddle inside their nesting box, Thursday, July 17, 2003, in Raleigh, N.C. Birds that had been the mainstays of suburban skies - including the robins of spring, the bluebirds of happiness and especially the scavenging crows -...
In a file photo young house wrens wait for food as they huddle inside their nesting box, Thursday, July 17, 2003, in Raleigh, N.C. Birds that had been the mainstays of suburban skies - including the robins...   (Associated Press)
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