Support for the Federal Bird Safe Buildings Act of 2025

SUMMARY

The Animal Law Committee (Martha Golar and Sherry Ramsey, Co-Chairs) issued a report in support of the Federal Bird Safe Buildings Act (H.R.3268). The bill would amend Title 40 of the United States Code to direct the Administrator of General Services (the “GSA”) to incorporate practices and strategies to reduce bird fatalities resulting from collisions with certain public buildings. The bipartisan Bill would require that each public building constructed, acquired, or significantly altered by the GSA incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features, to the maximum extent possible, and would help to reduce the roughly one billion bird deaths caused by collisions with buildings each year. The bill would have “little to no impact” on the federal budget. If enacted, the bill would direct the GSA to develop a design guide applicable to all public buildings constructed, acquired, or of which more than 50 percent of the façade of such building is substantially altered, which design guide would include (a) features for reducing bird fatalities from collisions throughout all construction phases, (b) methods and strategies for reducing fatal bird collisions, including installation of interior, exterior and site lighting; and (c) best practices for reducing fatal bird collisions. (Note: certain public buildings would be exempt from the bill, including the White House, the Supreme Court building and the U.S. Capitol.)

BILL INFORMATION

REPORT

REPORT ON LEGISLATION
BY THE ANIMAL LAW COMMITTEE

H.R.3268
Rep. Griffith, Rep. Quigley, Rep. Gottheimer, Rep. Titus

Federal Bird Safe Buildings Act of 2025

AN ACT to amend title 40 of the United States Code to direct the Administrator of General Services to incorporate practices and strategies to reduce bird fatality resulting from collisions with certain public buildings, and for other purposes.

THIS LEGISLATION IS APPROVED

I. SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSED LAW

House Bill H.R.3268[1], the Federal Bird Safe Buildings Act of 2025 (the “Bill”), would amend Title 40 of the United States Code to direct the Administrator of General Services (the “GSA”) to incorporate practices and strategies to reduce bird fatalities resulting from collisions with certain public buildings.  The bipartisan Bill would require that each public building constructed, acquired, or significantly altered by the GSA incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features, to the maximum extent possible. The Bill, which was introduced by Republican representative Morgan H. Griffith and co-sponsored by Democratic representatives Mike Quigley[2], Josh Gottheimer, and Dina Titus, would help to reduce the roughly one billion bird deaths caused by collisions with buildings each year and would have “little to no impact” on the federal budget.[3]

If enacted, the Bill would direct the GSA to develop a design guide applicable to all public buildings constructed, acquired, or of which more than 50 percent of the façade of such building is substantially altered, which design guide would include (a) features for reducing bird fatalities from collisions throughout all construction phases, (b) methods and strategies for reducing fatal bird collisions, including installation of interior, exterior and site lighting; and (c) best practices for reducing fatal bird collisions.[4] In order to identify best practices to reduce fatal bird collisions, the GSA is permitted under the Bill to consider recommendations from federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations with expertise in bird conservation, as well as from representatives of green building certification systems.[5]  The GSA is directed to disseminate the design guide to all federal agencies, subagencies and departments, and is further directed to regularly update the design guide.[6]  Certain public buildings would be exempt from the Bill, including the White House, the Supreme Court building and the U.S. Capitol.[7]  The Bill requires the GSA to submit an annual report demonstrating compliance with the Bill which report shall include an assessment of bird fatalities occurring as a result of collisions with public buildings and further recommendations for reduction in such fatalities.[8]

II. ARGUMENT SUMMARY

The Animal Law Committee supports the Bill because (a) the implementation of bird friendly designs and practices is effective in reducing the incidence of fatal bird collisions, which accounts for the deaths of up to one billion (or more) birds every year in the United States, (b) the incorporation of bird friendly building practices can be simple, cost effective and may be accompanied by economic and environmental benefits; and (c) it would set a precedent on a Federal level that could be followed by states, cities and municipalities that have not yet enacted their own bird friendly regulations, providing for a national framework that further reduces the incidence of fatal bird collisions. These points are more specifically explained below.

III. BACKGROUND

Birds have value in and of themselves. Humans’ love of and respect for birds transcends party lines, as evidenced by the fact that the Bill is co-sponsored by House members from each end of the political spectrum. Aside from this intrinsic value, birds provide an ecological benefit to humans by performing important functions such as controlling insect and rodent populations, dispersing seeds, pollinating ecosystems, transferring nutrients, and providing natural sanitation services.[9] In addition, bird watching is a hugely appealing and profitable industry. An estimated 45 million Americans enjoy watching birds and spend an estimated $39 billion per year on bird watching activities, equipment and related trips.[10] In fact, bird watching expenditures in 2022 contributed to 1.4 million jobs and $90 billion in job income.[11]

Building collisions have become a significant and often fatal reality for many types of bird species in urban and rural environments. These collisions, particularly during migration periods, lead to the deaths of hundreds of millions – and perhaps in excess of a billion – of birds every year in the United States.  While research conducted in 2014 estimated that between 365 million and 988 million birds died each year in the United States from building collisions[12], a 2024 study indicates that collisions with buildings account for more than one billion bird deaths annually in the country.[13]  This new research revealed that 60 percent of bird victims that initially appeared to survive a collision later died from their injuries, even with intervening care from wildlife rehabilitators.[14] One recent study published in 2024 even estimates the number of annual bird deaths resulting from glass collisions between 1.3 billion and 3.5 billion at a minimum.[15]

The cause of bird collisions is simple: birds cannot see or recognize glass.[16] Instead, the transparency and mirror-like qualities of glass create the illusion of open space. During daylight hours, birds often fly into windows because they perceive reflected images of the surrounding environment, such as vegetation, clouds, or open sky, or because they see what appears to be suitable habitat on the other side of the glass, including indoor plants. In fact, glass is particularly dangerous where it reflects trees, shrubs and other habitats that birds use for nesting, resting and foraging.[17]  Buildings of any size can attract bird collisions but the vast majority occur at homes and low-rise buildings, not skyscrapers.[18]  Window strikes at one to three story “low rise” buildings account for an estimated 56 percent of fatal bird collisions in the United States each year, 44 percent of fatalities are estimated to occur at residences, and less than one percent are estimated to occur at high-rises.[19] That is not to say that taller buildings and skyscrapers pose no threats of their own. Artificial lighting during the nighttime, which is thought to disrupt birds’ ability to use the sky to navigate, exacerbates the danger to nocturnal migrating birds. When they are drawn into areas with bright lights, they can be knocked off track, becoming disoriented and exhausted, leading to collisions with taller buildings such as skyscrapers and stadiums, as birds fly higher during migration periods.[20] Together, concentrations of glass and lighting can be catastrophic. In October 2023, for example, nearly 1,000 birds fatally collided with the Lakeside Center at Chicago’s McCormick Place in a single night.[21]

Across the United States, initiatives to reduce bird collisions and promote bird-friendly cities are steadily increasing. Since 2008, more than 20 U.S cities and municipalities have enacted legislation adopting building policies designed with bird safety in mind.[22] Many cities now participate in “lights out” programs, which call for building owners and managers to dim or turn off lights at night, particularly during spring and fall migrations.[23] Architects are also incorporating collision-prevention strategies into their designs, such as using glass that is visible to birds. From major urban centers like New York City (NYC)[24] to smaller communities such as Lake County, Illinois[25], more local governments are requiring bird-safe glass in new construction projects.

IV. JUSTIFICATION

a. The use of bird-friendly design and construction methods are simple, cost effective, and effective in reducing bird fatalities

Bird-safe building designs and methods can significantly reduce bird mortality, as supported by multiple case studies. In fact, cities are emerging as leaders in the effort to prevent birds from colliding with windows, with local laws and policies setting examples of the affordability and effectiveness of bird-friendly building design. [26] The growing number of states and municipalities passing similar legislation aimed at protecting birds is proof that the issue is in our national conscience, and that such efforts work.  A 2021 study conducted at McCormick Place in Chicago demonstrated that darkening half of the building’s windows resulted in 11 times fewer collisions during spring migration and 6 times fewer during fall migration.[27] At the same building, a retrofit of 120,000 square feet of glass in 2024 resulted in a 95% reduction in the number of bird collisions.[28]  The upgrades made to the Javits Center in NYC, discussed above, resulted in a 90% decline in bird collisions.[29] With respect to the efficacy of bird friendly glass in general, another study in Stillwater, Oklahoma found that applying dots to the side of glass bus shelters reduced bird collisions by 64 percent[30], a finding which can easily translate to glass building facades.

There is a wide range of affordable and aesthetically pleasing bird-friendly materials, design solutions, and strategies that have been developed by architects, scientists, advocates and companies for both new and existing buildings that, when used, can reduce bird collisions.[31]  Incidentally, many of these products and materials also improve building energy efficiency.[32] Commonly approved bird-friendly materials include treatments for glass like fritting and etching, exterior insect screens, exterior blinds, and architectural features that shield large sheets of glass.[33]  The American Bird Conservancy has even developed a rating systems for bird-friendly materials which architects and designers can choose from when constructing new buildings or retrofitting existing buildings, providing a variety of design choices that can be both cost effective (when compared to the total cost of the project) and attractive.[34]  In the long run, the demand for more bird-friendly materials can be anticipated to create competition, increase production, and lower the costs of these materials, while at the same time it would spur innovation and lead to the development of newer and better technologies.

In many cases, particularly when bird-friendly designs and materials are considered at the beginning of a project, additional costs associated with bird-friendly materials can fall within a fraction of a percent of the total costs of construction.[35]  In addition, the long-term costs may be offset by the energy savings associated with bird-friendly building designs.[36]  The use of ceramic fritting on glass, for example, can help to increase the effectiveness of insulation, thereby reducing heating and cooling costs.  One example of this is the Javits Center in NYC, which saw a 26 percent annual energy savings (equating to $2 million in savings in energy costs from 2013-2017) after upgrades were made to the existing structure, including the installation of bird-friendly glass frit and printed glass panels.[37]

b. The adoption of the Bill can be easily implemented and will set an example for other states, as well as private enterprises, to adopt similar measures

In recent times, the federal government’s real estate portfolio included almost 400,000 buildings in the United States, owned and leased by various federal agencies.[38] Although the Bill would apply only to those public buildings constructed, acquired, [39] or of which more than 50 percent of the façade of such building is substantially altered, there is still substantial opportunity to implement bird-friendly designs that would have no small impact. Further, migratory birds travel across many states and hundreds of jurisdictions twice every year, making the bird collision problem a national (if not an international) problem – thus justifying the need for federal intervention and a uniform Federal policy.  Although the Bill would not affect all buildings, its adoption would provide a powerful and motivational example for those states which have not already adopted bird-friendly legislation to enact similar or even stronger policies. The enactment of the Bill may also inspire owners of privately owned buildings to implement bird-friendly designs voluntarily.

Moreover, the GSA has many existing resources to utilize in developing a design guide for public buildings as directed by the Bill. There are already existing guidelines providing for simple and effective measures, designs and practices for reducing bird collisions, including those issued by federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which the GSA could consider in implementing its own policies.[40] In 2020, NYC published its Bird Friendly Building Design & Construction Requirements Guidance Document[41], a 23-page compliance manual with figures, images, and examples to help the public understand the requirements of NYC’s Local Law 15 of 2020, which amended the City’s building code to require certain bird-friendly designs and materials on both new and existing buildings.

V. CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated above, the New York City Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee supports the proposed legislation.

Animal Law Committee
Martha Golar, Co-Chair
Sherry Ramsey, Co-Chair

February 2026