"Modern architecture loves glass. Glass makes interiors brighter and adds sparkle to cityscapes. But glass also kills millions of birds every year when they collide with windows. Biologists say as more glass buildings go up, more birds are dying."

"So a group of biologists and architects is trying to do something about that. You'll find some of them at the Powdermill Avian Research Center in western Pennsylvania. They're catching birds.

Biologist Luke DeGroote patrols a mist net that runs for hundreds of yards through a dense, wet forest. It's mid-morning, the sun is just above the tree line, and it's easy to walk right into it. "It's a very fine mesh," he says, "and that's why the birds run into it. They essentially will fly towards the net and fall into these pockets." The pockets at the bottom of the net catch the birds and entangle them."

Christopher Joyce reports for NPR's Morning Edition August 8, 2012, in the first part of a two-part series. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Sky-High Design: How To Make A Bird-Friendly Building" (NPR) [3]