Book chapter: Birds as bio-indicators of riparian ecosystems (pp. 157-161)

“Among terrestrial vertebrates, birds have often been used as bio-indicators. Birds occupy a large number of habitats all over the globe and usually occur in large numbers. Several species are rather sensitive to environmental changes and are faster reactors. Additionally, birds are frequently used as indicators of changes in other groups. Furthermore, birds are the best-known biological group, considering the amount of information available. The shifts in distribution and population trends of several species or clusters of species are currently known. Moreover, birds are the only group for which extensive nationwide or continental atlases and databases of trends are available.”