André-Louis Paré
No. 137 - Spring/Summer 2024

The Birds That Remain


Thanks to their song, if not their call, we hear birds more often than we see them. They attract our ear more than our eye and, time and again, despite our desire, we can never spot them. There are water birds, savannah and prairie birds, forest birds, and city and garden birds. Among them are passerines (songbirds), the most widespread group in the world. According to the species, their vocalizing varies from the melodic song of a thrush or swallow to the cawing, even shrieking of crows and ravens; however, in spite of their sonic intrusions, they contribute to a feeling that life is good. Whether they chatter, sing, chirp, twitter, squawk, cheep or warble, these winged creatures bring music to the world and add to human well-being.

The documentary The Messenger (SongbirdSOS Productions Inc. and Fils à Cinq), produced in 2016, reminds us that the decline in the rich soundscape that birds produce is one sign that we’re living in the Anthropocene era. Subtitled Imagine a World Without Birdsong, the film recognizes the importance of the avian class for nature’s biodiversity at a time when numerous threats contribute to their decline everywhere on the planet. There are many reasons for their disappearance. It is no surprise that global warming and our industrial society’s intensive agricultural practices have disturbed the seasons and thus, bird migrations. But there is another factor, according to studies carried out by QuébecOiseaux: domestic cats are responsible for the loss of between 100,000 and 375,000 birds


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