Here are some treaties, policies, and actions at the federal level to protect birds.

Urban Bird Treaty Program. Launched in 1999, the Urban Conservation Treaty for Migratory Birds (Urban Bird Treaty) program was created to help municipal governments conserve birds that live and nest in or overwinter or migrate through their cities. The Treaty’s goals are to:

  • Protect, restore, and enhance urban/suburban habitats for birds
  • Reduce hazards to birds
  • Educate and engage urban/suburban citizens in caring about and conserving birds and their habitats

Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Enacted in 1918, the law implemented the 1916 Convention between the U.S. and Great Britain (for Canada) for the protection of migratory birds. Later amendments implemented treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, the U.S. and Japan, and the U.S. and the Soviet Union (now Russia). Among other things, the statute prohibits actions to “pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, offer to purchase, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, cause to be shipped, deliver for transportation, transport, cause to be transported, carry, or cause to be carried by any means whatever, receive for shipment, transportation or carriage, or export, at any time, or in any manner, any migratory bird, included in the terms of this Convention . . . for the protection of migratory birds . . . or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird.” (16 U.S.C. 703)

Endangered Species Act. The law protects and recovers imperiled species and the ecosystems on which they depend. Under the ESA, adopted in 1973, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program maintains a  current list of birds protected by the Endangered Species Act in the U.S.

This law also implements the United States’ commitment to two international treaties–CITES and the Pan American Convention–that contain important provisions for the protection of migratory birds.