At least five birds spotted crashing into clear panels at Dairy Farm bus stop within 24 hours

SINGAPORE - A bus stop in Dairy Farm Road, which is located near Singapore’s green “heart”, recently claimed several avian victims as multiple birds were seen flying into its clear panels.

Collisions like these could happen as birds may not be able to perceive the clear panels as barriers, experts say.

Mr Jimmy Tan, a freelance editor, posted a video on Facebook on Nov 10 showing an unmoving pink-necked green pigeon lying on the ground at bus stop 43899.

The 52-year-old had cycled past the area around 8am when he made the observation. He said he inspected the bird and found that its body looked intact and free of external injuries.

While he was reporting the sighting to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum – which has a hotline for dead bird reports that can aid in research – a few more birds crashed into the panels, Mr Tan said. 

“Just as I was typing my report and wondering if the bird might have crashed into the clear wall at the back of the bus stop, I heard loud thuds and saw three Asian glossy starlings falling onto the ground after crashing into it,” he said. 

Two of the starlings recovered quickly and flew away, while the third feathered creature appeared dazed. It opened and shut its eyes periodically for about five minutes before it could stand upright on its feet, he added.

When a volunteer from the museum went to retrieve the carcass of the male pigeon, she found another dead female green pigeon in the area. 

Dairy Farm Road borders the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and is located near the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. 

The museum’s assistant senior curator of birds Tan Yen Yi, who helms the hotline, said it appeared that the female pigeon had died before the male pigeon.

“That brings the crash count to five birds within 24 hours,” she said.

Since late 2019, Dr Tan said she had recorded 45 reports of dead birds found near bus stops. 

Noting that the panels at the bus stop in Dairy Farm were “very clear”, Dr Tan said: “It’s like walking into glass doors, which we all are likely to have experienced in our lives, except the birds do that at full sprint.” 

The Straits Times has reached out to the Land Transport Authority for comment.

Ms Veronica Foo, who chairs the bird group of environmental group Nature Society Singapore, said that panels can reflect the surrounding trees and sky and birds may perceive them as a clear flight path. 

Another possible reason for the bird crash is “reflection aggression” – where a bird attacks its own reflection, thinking that the reflection is a rival bird, she added.

At night, tall buildings with a glass facade often reflect the stars in the sky and birds may mistake them as a clear flight path, said Ms Foo. 

Dr Tan noted that birds that migrate at night and at low altitudes also appear to be prone to collision with man-made structures, regardless of the building material quality.

Dr David Tan, postdoctoral research fellow at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, said that in Singapore, birds that are more at risk of such collisions include fruit-eating birds that live on the edges of the country’s forests such as green pigeons, emerald doves, and starlings as they move between trees to forage.

Migratory birds such as pittas, bitterns, black-backed kingfishers and flycatchers are also prone to colliding as they stop over in the city and get disoriented, said the bird scientist.

He had in 2024

published a study that identified six areas linked to future developments

where birds could face increased risk of flying into buildings. The areas include Tengah and Springleaf.

One of the best ways to mitigate this is to put dot or line patterns on the glass, either by etching the glass or by installing stickers or laminates, to break up the reflective surface of the glass, he added. 

The phenomenon of birds crashing into buildings is not unique to Singapore. Every year, billions of birds die after smashing into glass buildings that they cannot see or from exhaustion as a result of getting confused by city lights.

ST reported in October that a Nanyang Technological University student-led initiative, Project Avigate, had launched a campaign to raise funds for the installation of decals at its School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) building, where its glassy facade had led to numerous bird collisions. 

A total of 122 collisions involving 22 bird species were recorded by Project Avigate during the past three migratory seasons.

To prevent such collisions, Bird Society of Singapore vice-president Raghav Narayanswamy said that other than installing decals on large glass surfaces, reducing sources of artificial night-time light can also help. 

The National Parks Board in 2022 published some guidelines and recommendations for such visual markers.

For example, the ideal marker should have a maximum spacing of 5cm by 5cm with minimum diameter of 0.5cm for circular openings. It should also be highly contrasted and applied on at least 85 per cent of all the exterior glass surfaces within the first 12m of the building above the planted tree height. 

The NParks report also said that decals and stickers are cost-effective and short-term methods to reduce bird strikes. 

For dead bird reporting, members of the public can contact the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s Dead Bird Hotline on +65 9876 4997 on WhatsApp or @deadbirdhotline on Telegram.