All over Britain, birds are disappearing. Since just 1994, the number of blackbirds has dropped by 16 per cent, house martins by 35 per cent, cuckoos by 47 per cent, song thrushes by 50 per cent, starlings by 73 per cent and tree sparrows by 93 per cent.
This decline is the result of modern farming practices, notably the use of pesticides (which kill insects and seed plants that birds eat) and the massive destruction of hedgerows, woodland and rough grassland which provided food and nesting sites. In urban areas, too, sprays and pellets have killed insects and over-tidying has reduced nesting places.
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