Bird population in Canadian grasslands on the decline: report [Video]

Grassland birds are the most threatened populations of birds in Canada, with a 67 per cent decline since 1970, a report published Tuesday found — but a surprising alliance with beef producers is emerging to protect their habitat.

Much of the decline is attributed to the disappearance of grassland habitats across Canada, located largely in the Prairies. Birds that live only in grasslands have declined even more steeply, suffering a 90 per cent collapse since 1970, the report found.

“I tend to think of it as a quiet crisis,” said Patrick Nadeau, president of Birds Canada, the organization that co-wrote the report.

“You don’t hear about it as much as you would, say, the loss of old growth forests, but it really is a crisis that’s happening in grasslands — not just in Canada, but actually right across the Americas.”

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