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6h ago

Bright Nights Stretch Birds’ Days by Nearly an Hour, Global Study Finds

A Science study ties the change to artificial night lighting measured through global acoustic-satellite data.

© Bachkova Natalia via Shutterstock
The researchers know that birds sing longer in light-polluted areas, but aren't sure if that's a positive or negative development
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Overview

  • In the brightest night skies, diurnal birds extended daily vocal activity by about 50 minutes compared with the darkest sites.
  • Recordings show songs starting roughly 18 minutes earlier at dawn and ending about 32 minutes later at dusk in light‑polluted areas.
  • Species with larger eyes relative to body size showed stronger responses to night lighting, indicating trait-linked sensitivity.
  • Researchers analyzed BirdWeather/BirdNET recordings from worldwide stations and paired them with month-specific VIIRS night‑light data, with reported subsets ranging from about 61 million to more than 180 million vocalizations.
  • The ecological consequences remain uncertain, with authors noting potential trade‑offs between extra foraging or mating time and reduced rest, and urging further study as light pollution covers vast human-inhabited regions.