In Unprecedented Feat, Scientists Figure Out How Many Wild Birds Live on The Planet
19 MAY 2021
In one of the biggest data studies of its kind ever carried out, researchers have put a figure on how many wild birds are inhabiting the planet right now – so before we tell you, make a guess and see if you were anywhere close.
Ready? The official tally is roughly 50 billion, over six times as many as there are humans on our planet. That covers a total of 9,700 bird species (92 percent of those alive today), from the avocet to the zebra finch, and is based on over a billion sightings logged on the citizen science portal eBird.