Tough time for urban birds

Birds in urban areas are having a tough time as shady trees are often felled to make way for shopping and housing complexes, road widening, new highways, power lines, parking lots and mobile phone communication towers that are being erected.

In the last several years, hundreds of trees and bushes have been cleared to make way for road expansion projects and the concretization of large open spaces.  Without trees, city birds are trapped and with nowhere to go, they nest on top of concrete structures or even on the eaves of roofs of housing complexes.  Chances are, the hatchlings will be killed by the scorching heat of the sun.

Road engineers, city planners, and the authorities are apathetic or unaware that birds lack access to fruits, insects, and nesting sites in the absence of trees.  Furthermore, developers are obsessed with artificial landscaping or prefer exotic and imported plants that produce little shade. A specific illustration of this trend is the rise in popularity of palm trees in housing areas, which are unsuitable for birds due to their lack of branches and canopy at the top, thus unable to meet the birds’ fundamental necessities for food and shelter.

City planners focusing on rural-urban periphery areas often overlook the immense value of biodiversity each time they drastically alter the landscape through the use of heavy machinery. Numerous bird species are now seldom seen, such as the Asian koels, Javan Mynas, Fantails, Bulbuls, Black-naped Orioles and house sparrows, because of massive urbanisation.

While it is widely assumed that birds fly vast distances, this is not the case for Malaysian birds, which are not good fliers and are frequently seen jumping from branch to branch or tree to tree, looking for food. It is therefore critical that urban planning takes their needs into account.

Birds not only play an important role in the ecosystem, but are also vital to many food webs. For instance, carnivorous birds naturally keep the population of rats and other rodents under control, reducing farmers’ financial losses.

Also, crop-friendly species such as Bitterns and Egrets feed on insects, pests, fishes, and crabs found in wetlands and paddy fields. These instances show that birds are valuable allies for farmers who typically rely on costly and frequently harmful pesticides to manage animals considered pests.

Besides the ecological benefits of a rich bird presence, their movements, colours, and sounds enrich the quality of human life. It has been proven over and over again that coming into close contact with nature improves our physical and mental well-being.

Unfortunately, the general populace has a negative perception of birds and views them as disease carriers and annoyances. Negative stereotypes about birds would disappear if people were more conscious of the important roles that birds serve in the environment as pollinators, seed dispersers, scavengers, and predators of mice and other small animals that live in fields. It is important that we learn to live in harmony with bird species that have adapted to human-made surroundings fairly well.

The process of reintroducing birds into urban areas begins with the creation of habitats that are as close to natural ones as possible, allowing them to thrive under the best conditions. This entails increasing plant diversity to accommodate numerous bird species that rely on plants and trees for food and shelter.

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) calls on the State and local authorities to plant native trees that support wildlife by producing fruits and nectar and attracting insects and seed-eating birds. This is the first step toward reintroducing birds to urban settings. It is time to bring the birds back into the cities with planting more suitable trees and to significantly reduce tree cutting.

Mohideen Abdul Kader
President
Consumers’ Association of Penang

Press Statement, 3 July 2025