Why It Matters
Bird populations are under pressure—habitat loss, collisions, invasive species, and climate change all play a role. Studies estimate North America has lost roughly 3 billion birds since 1970. BirdID-Lite helps people learn and care— and supports the groups doing the hard work on the ground.
Pledge: BirdID-Lite will donate 50% of the Pi received through the app plus all tips to a verified bird conservation nonprofit that accepts Pi and has completed KYB (Know Your Business) on the Pi platform.
Words to Remember
“If you take care of birds, you take care of most of the environmental problems in the world.” — Dr. Thomas Lovejoy
“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” — Sir David Attenborough
“Birds are an ecological litmus paper.” — Roger Tory Peterson
“How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are cut down?” — Henry David Thoreau
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” — Maya Angelou
Sources & Credits
- Participation & spending: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (birding subset).
- Participation overview: Cornell Lab of Ornithology (All About Birds) summaries on U.S. birding numbers.
- Population trends: “Decline of the North American avifauna” (Science, 2019) and State of the Birds reports.
- Images: Courtesy of project contributors. Educational, non-commercial use.
Donations ledger (updated when tips/pledges are recorded):
ledger/donations.json •
ledger/donations.csv •
Public Donations Ledger