Famous Illinois Building Has Killed 40,000 Birds In 46 Years

Some buildings can be death traps for animals and a famous one in Illinois has claimed thousands of birds' lives through the years.

Beautiful Buildings In Illinois

There are so many beautiful buildings in Illinois, especially in Chicago. The structures are made with lots of glass to allow the natural sunlight to brighten up the rooms. Then at night, with the dark skies and lights beaming from the inside, it looks stunning. A perfect example is McCormick Place.

McCormick Place Dangerous For Birds

Unfortunately, that beautiful building is also very dangerous. Just looking at McCormick Place, you would have no idea that it's deadly for birds flying through Chicago. In fact, if you look at the numbers over the years, it's been a massacre.

According to cbsnews.com,

A new United Nations report found that humans have changed the Earth so much that migrating animals are facing extinction.

 

The report also revealed that more than 40,000 dead birds have been recovered from McCormick Place since 1978.

Deadly Month For Birds In Illinois

Last October was the deadliest month in Illinois history for birds. The total was 1,000. The most in one night has been 200. It's so sad to think about. That was just for McCormick Place. There were many more in the rest of the city too.

RELATED: Turkeys Have Overpopulated Illinois

How Does McCormick Place Kill Birds?

While the birds are flying at night they get confused. The animals don't understand they can't go through closed windows. At night, the bright light attracts them to the building. They crash full speed against the windows and it kills them instantly. You would think, architects would've come up with a way to protect the birds.