Why Birds Matter?

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* The first United States law passed to protect birds was after the public outcry of the Passenger Pigeon and the Carolina Parakeet going extinct in 1914. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 still stands today despite numerous attempts by conservative fractions to abolish or defund it. The statute makes it unlawful without a waiver to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell birds listed therein ("migratory birds"). The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs and nests. Over 800 species are currently on the list.

* The first recorded bird protection law was past in Ancient Egypt by Pharaoh Psammetich I. The Pharaoh protected the Egyptian Vulture (on pain of death) because he realized the importance of vultures cleaning up carrion that often caused disease outbreaks. The Egyptian populous referred to the vulture, after the law was passed, as "Pharaoh's Chicken."

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* Over half of the known endemic bird species on Hawai’i evolved from the house finch.

== Scary Facts: ==

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* ~~One~~ the most populous bird in the world (estimated 5 billion birds) in 1850 ~~would within~~ sixty years go extinct thanks ~~entirely~~ to ~~humans~~. In written accounts given by those who actually saw the Passenger Pigeon flocks, “Beech tree limbs sagged as the colony crowded on slender branches. The largest colony that nested in Wisconsin as said to have at least 135 million adults and covered over 850 square miles. When the flock took off, the day would turn to night with a black cloud of birds, two to three miles across and forty miles long flew to its next destination at up to 60 mph.

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* Of the 71 known species of endemic Hawaiian bird, one-third are extinct and two-thirds of the remaining living species are endangered or threatened.

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* The Passenger Pigeon was the most populous bird in the world (estimated 5 billion birds) in 1850. Within sixty years it when extinct, thanks to human activity (hunting and habitat destruction). In written accounts given by those who actually saw the Passenger Pigeon flocks, “Beech tree limbs sagged as the colony crowded on slender branches. The largest colony that nested in Wisconsin as said to have at least 135 million adults and covered over 850 square miles. When the flock took off, the day would turn to night with a black cloud of birds, two to three miles across and forty miles long flew to its next destination at up to 60 mph.

* Currently, 1 out of 6 species on this planet is on the brink of extinction, thanks in a good part to humans. (UN Council on Bio-diversity, 2010)

* Unless something changes, it is predicted we will cause 50% or more of the species on our planet to go extinct within the next 30-100 years, which in turn, will probably bring about [http://thetechjournal.com/science/eminent-scientist-claims-humans-will-be-extinct-in-100-years.xhtml our extinction]

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 * The first United States law passed to protect birds was after the public outcry of the Passenger Pigeon and the Carolina Parakeet going extinct in 1914. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 still stands today despite numerous attempts by conservative fractions to abolish or defund it. The statute makes it unlawful without a waiver to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell birds listed therein ("migratory birds"). The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs and nests. Over 800 species are currently on the list.
 * The first recorded bird protection law was past in Ancient Egypt by Pharaoh Psammetich I. The Pharaoh protected the Egyptian Vulture (on pain of death) because he realized the importance of vultures cleaning up carrion that often caused disease outbreaks. The Egyptian populous referred to the vulture, after the law was passed, as "Pharaoh's Chicken."
+* Over half of the known endemic bird species on Hawai’i evolved from the house finch.
 == Scary Facts: ==
-* One the most populous bird in the world (estimated 5 billion birds) in 1850 would within sixty years go extinct thanks entirely to humans.  In written accounts given by those who actually saw the Passenger Pigeon flocks, “Beech tree limbs sagged as the colony crowded on slender branches. The largest colony that nested in Wisconsin as said to have at least 135 million adults and covered over 850 square miles. When the flock took off, the day would turn to night with a black cloud of birds, two to three miles across and forty miles long flew to its next destination at up to 60 mph.
+* Of the 71 known species of endemic Hawaiian bird, one-third are extinct and two-thirds of the remaining living species are endangered or threatened.
+* The Passenger Pigeon was the most populous bird in the world (estimated 5 billion birds) in 1850. Within sixty years it when extinct, thanks to human activity (hunting and habitat destruction).  In written accounts given by those who actually saw the Passenger Pigeon flocks, “Beech tree limbs sagged as the colony crowded on slender branches. The largest colony that nested in Wisconsin as said to have at least 135 million adults and covered over 850 square miles. When the flock took off, the day would turn to night with a black cloud of birds, two to three miles across and forty miles long flew to its next destination at up to 60 mph.
 * Currently, 1 out of 6 species on this planet is on the brink of extinction, thanks in a good part to humans. (UN Council on Bio-diversity, 2010)
 * Unless something changes, it is predicted we will cause 50% or more of the species on our planet to go extinct within the next 30-100 years, which in turn, will probably bring about [http://thetechjournal.com/science/eminent-scientist-claims-humans-will-be-extinct-in-100-years.xhtml our extinction]