At least one billion birds are killed by window collisions every year in North America. Building collisions are among the leading causes of wild bird deaths, and yet the staggering severity of this problem is not widely recognized or acted upon by the public, architects, policymakers, or large institutions. Launched in 2022 with the support of YPS, the Yale Bird-Friendly Building Initiative is accelerating the adoption of bird-safe building design on Yale’s campus and beyond.
In 2023, the Yale Bird‐Friendly Building Initiative, in collaboration with the American Bird Conservancy, published a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive report on the effectiveness and potential of emerging public policies, aimed at promoting bird-friendly design at a greater scale. The report features case studies, key lessons learned from cities that have passed bird‐friendly laws, and insights from policymakers, advocates, glass manufacturers, architects, scientists, and community members involved in designing and implementing local policies.
In addition to the report, dozens of students on campus, in collaboration with the Yale Peabody Museum, have helped collect and track how many birds and which species are striking buildings on Yale’s campus. More than 3,100 birds and over 100 species have been collected, including rare species.
“It’s an issue that’s affecting both the biodiversity crisis and the bio-abundance crisis,” said Viveca Morris, executive director of the Law, Environment and Animals Program at Yale Law School. “One rare species impacted is called the Bicknell’s Thrush, which is an unusual bird to see in Connecticut. We were surprised that two of them collided with Yale buildings and died. But there are also common birds we find in large quantities whose numbers are declining and that we know need protection.”
The experience has been enriching for students, who gain paid research opportunities and a meaningful chance to be part of a team advancing a scalable initiative. Informed and inspired by the data collected, university leaders have integrated bird-friendly design and retrofits into multiple Yale buildings. As a result, the American Bird Conservancy recently recognized Yale as having the most comprehensive and impressive effort to reduce collisions among any university in the U.S.
Last updated September 2025.
