Bird Populations Are Rapidly Declining, With 3 Billion Birds In North America Dying Since 1970, But New Research Has Shown The Leading Cause Of Death For Birds Near Power Lines Isn’t Electrocution

But, upon further examination, the authors of the study revealed that the bird had “fresh injuries and entrance wounds” from pellets, suggesting that the bird had died from gunshots before crashing into the power lines and falling to the ground.

So, the extra measures taken to mitigate future occurrences of electrocution had not been necessary.

The issue that needs to be addressed is illegal shooting so that avian conservation can be improved.

The researchers are planning to continue their work in the hopes of understanding how often illegal shootings are happening and why.

So far, they’ve learned that people engage in the activity for fun or to protect their livestock from predators.