World Environment Day: Trackling bird-window collisions through citizen science, industry outreach

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jun 4, 2026 11:39 PM IST

Bird-window collisions in India remain largely under-recognised and barely researched. (Express photo by Peeyush Sekhsaria)

A bird-window collision (also called a bird strike or window strike) occurs when a bird flies into a glass window. Pune-based architect and geographer Peeyush Sekhsaria vividly recalled an incident during a homestay at Coorg when a loud thud made most of them rush outside. “Curious, I followed and walked toward the sound. To my shock, a beautiful Asian Emerald dove had died after crashing into a windowpane. The force of the collision was clearly visible on the glass,” Sekhsaria remembered. This was in 2008 but it was not till 2019 that he started looking at the issue in detail and has been working on bird window collision ever since.

The reason for the accident was easy to understand, Sekhsaria thought when he looked at the reflection in the window. “The bird likely saw trees, shrubs and sky reflected in the glass and flew straight into it. It was surprising that the pane itself didn’t break from the impact. At first, it seemed like an isolated incident. However, as an architect designing a large building in a clearing within a coffee plantation, I became concerned about this issue,” he said.

Bird-window collisions in India remain largely under-recognised and barely researched. Emerging evidence suggests a significant threat to India’s already declining bird populations. Relying on existing data including from citizen science platforms, one scientific paper published from the Nilgiris and largely from wildlife rescue organisations, Dr Ashwin Viswanathan and Sekhsaria, examined 1,044 cases, and found 110 species affected by bird-window collision, from which 75 species are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and some are also listed on the IUCN Red List. They found that certain species like the White-cheeked Barbet and Indian pitta were at pretty severe risk from collisions.

This concern takes on particular significance in India, which supports extraordinary avian diversity, with over 1,380 recorded species, including numerous endemic and globally threatened, and lying at the crossroads of major global migratory flyways, used annually by millions of birds, according to Sekhsaria, who works in the domains of natural resource management and natural disasters. “We are collecting data on this issue by using social media groups, citizen science platforms and by contacting wildlife organisations and other groups that receive calls to rescue birds. These networks have a wide reach and help document such cases,” he said

In addition to working with the birding community, Sekhsaria, who is also a senior associate fellow with Climate and Ecosystems team at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, New Delhi, is also engaging with the building and construction industry to understand how aware they are of the problem and what their perceptions are. “While we are working towards addressing this issue in India, it requires a transdisciplinary approach, combining research, design innovation, conservation practice, and supportive policy interventions and most importantly an active engagement of citizens,” he added.

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues .

Professional Background

Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature.

Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO.

Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives.

Awards and Recognition

Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.”

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Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions.

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