British ornithologists track cuckoo birds migration route
(Phys.org) -- Nowhere it seems, are bird watchers more enthusiastic than in Britain, where groups congregate to watch and discuss the most intimate details of their favorite fowl. Of consternation to such groups however is the decline of several favorite species, one of which is the cuckoo, which has seen a nearly fifty percent drop in numbers in just the past couple of decades. Making matters even more frustrating has been the lack of data on the birds which might offer clues as to why their numbers are dropping. Now, one group, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has taken matters into its own hands by capturing and fitting five wild cuckoos with tiny radio backpacks to allow for tracking of the birds during their annual migration. The hope is that by tracking the birds to see where some die, efforts can be made to help them survive.