Today's birds are up to 72% smaller than those of 80 years ago in Indigenous territories

"Between 1940 and 2020, the average body mass of birds in 10 Indigenous and local communities on three continents declined by up to 72%. For the Indigenous communities who were interviewed, birds often hold immeasurable symbolic and ceremonial significance. Thus, ritual dances, songs, and place names are at risk of being lost in the face of this loss of biodiversity."

"The Tsimane' people live deep within the Bolivian Amazon rainforest. When the elders of the community were just children, they saw macaws and Amazonian guans flying over the Maniqui River basin. Today, they themselves acknowledge seeing only ruddy pigeons and giant cowbirds, birds that are much more homogeneous and urban, and which have little or no connection to their territories."

An international study coordinated by the Autonomous University of Barcelona documents that between 1940 and 2020, average bird body mass declined by up to 72% across 10 Indigenous and local communities in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Indigenous elders report observing smaller, less culturally significant bird species replacing larger ones that held deep symbolic and ceremonial importance. Birds feature prominently in Indigenous cultures through ritual dances, songs, place names, and spiritual practices. This biodiversity loss extends beyond ecological concerns to threaten the preservation of cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and community identity. The decline reflects broader environmental degradation and climate crisis impacts on ecosystems that Indigenous communities have protected for centuries.

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