Because the biology, ecology, behavior, and evolutionary histories of many birds have been studied extensively, scientists have a foundation on which to ask the most pertinent questions, base hypotheses, obtain answers, and cultivate solutions. This background knowledge reduces risk of misinterpretation, allowing scientists to use birds, sensitive to stresses in predictable ways, as a proxy measure of environmental change. Furthermore, this background knowledge yields cost-effective research, since studies using other groups of animals often requires several years of basic data gathering before monitoring can begin. Birds integrate and accumulate environmental stresses over time because they are usually high in the food chain and have relatively long life-spans. Bird populations and communities, and bird behavior and reproductive success often reflect closely the stability of an ecosystem.
Birds hold widespread public interest.
Nearly 60 million birders in North America have made birding the second most popular outdoor activity after gardening, spending billions of dollars annually on birding supplies. Volunteer birders participating in citizen science programs form a powerful resource from which to gather data about population trends over a broad geographical range.