Jonathan J. Chu

Study Pinpoints Number of Birds Killed by Cats Each Year It’s no secret that birds are facing many threats in our cities, but the leading cause of death may come as a surprise. It’s not avian flu or natural predators, but instead, outdoor cats.

How many birds are killed by cats each year?

A new #UofG study provides a more accurate picture of the millions of birds dying at the claws of household pets.

@uofgcbs.bsky.social @integrativebiology.bsky.social @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social

Read more: news.uoguelph.ca/2025/10/new-...

60 million is a big number that suggest cats have a negative impact of birds in Canada. Cat owners, municipalities, wildlife managers and researchers all have a part to play in ensuring our environments benefit wildlife, people and cats alike. stewardshipcentrebc.ca/cats-and-bir...

There are still no direct measures of predation rates from cats in Canadian areas, but as followers of me are aware, we are working and will publish novel predation rates from Canadian localities soon!

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There is still a lot of uncertainty, we need more estimates of how many cats there are outside, especially from rural areas and of unowned cats.

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We also incorporated many new predations rate studies that have adjusted predation rate parameters in the model to be slightly lower.

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In 2013, it was estimated that cats kill between 105-348 million birds. Our updated estimate does NOT mean cats kill fewer birds now. The discrepancy comes from lower cat population estimates that we derived from primary field estimates rather than shelter intake and survey data originally used. 2/6

How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social

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Someone brought our admin a stunned young warbler in a cup this morning. Luckily we know just who to call! Thank you @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social & Jelany for your expertise, and shoutout to Sofia for catching the bird when it was flying around the office! 😅

Our lab had a fantastic time at the Soc. Cnd. Ornithologists meeting in Saskatoon last week! Thanks to @sco-soc-2025.bsky.social and the organizers.

And congrats to Jelany Duali for winning best student talk!

#ornithology #CanadaBirds

@passarahformes.bsky.social
@jonathanjojochu.bsky.social

Proposed Bill 5 threatens Ontario wildlife and ecosystems Proposed Bill 5 threatens Ontario wildlife and ecosystems.

Here is an Op-Ed @qwebber.bsky.social and I wrote on the absurd Bill 5 being proposed by the Ontario government. It is amazing we have to say these things but word needs to get out for those in Ontario....and for those in the rest of Canada and the U.S: keep watch!

thepointer.com/article/2025...

With the help of @jonathanjojochu.bsky.social, we’ve done a major website update. Check out all our new and exciting stuff! NorrisLab.ca

Do you study the impacts #cats have on #birds? Myself and @gowelizabeth.bsky.social are organizing a symposium on the impacts of cats on birds in Canada! We have a number of invited talks, but consider submitting an abstract for our #SCO-SOC symposium if you'd like to join us! See you in Saskatoon!

Make sure to check the detailed schedule on our website Birdsafecampus.org! We will have exciting talks and keynote speakers throughout the day.

My first PhD thesis paper is out now in Hormones and Behavior "Corticosterone predicts double-brooding in female savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis)". Open access here: doi.org/10.1016/j.yh... [1/7]

February 26th 2025, 9:30am until 5:00pm EST Virtual. Call for abstracts and presentation proposals. Deadline February 3rd. Image: two Cedar Waxwings facing each other in the center of the post and the summit logo in the corner.

Want to present at BSCS25? We are looking for presentations of all kinds, from any background. Please consider sharing your experiences on bird-window collision mitigation at a post-secondary institution. Presentations will be 8 minutes in length followed by a bried Q&A period. The presentation sessions will be recorded through Zoom. Please fill out our form by visiting birdsafecampus.org

Do you want to share what your campus is doing to mitigate bird-window collisions? Submit your presentation proposal now! Visit birdsafecampus.org to fill out the application. Call for abstracts are open until February 3rd.

Presentations will be 8 minutes long and will be recorded through Zoom.

Save the date! Bird Safe Campus Summit. Connecting and sharing knowledge to advance bird safe campus programs across North America. February 26 - Virtual - 9:30 am to 5:00 pm EST. (There is an image of a Cedar Waxwing on a window shaped like a crest with bird friendly markers)

Join us on February 26th 2025 for a FREE joint virtual meeting on bird safe campus programs. Come share how your campus is helping reduce bird collisions by submitting a presentation proposal or register to learn about what you can do on your campus.
Visit Birdsafecampus.org for more details.

Another trip around the sun over ! Research/PhD life highlights from 2024!

1. Completing my field season in the Okanagan, BC
2. Winning best student talk at NACCB 2024
3. Organizing a FREED field excursion for BIPOC students
4. All the birds!
5. A certain scholarship that rhymes with sea-gee-es-dee

Thanks for putting this together! Could I be added ?

Thanks for putting this together, could I get added ?

Thanks for putting this together, could I be added ?

Welcome to the newest spot to get your CatCam updates! I am a PhD candidate studying the impact of outdoor cats on wildlife by attaching animal-borne cameras on owned domestic cats! Hopefully I'll be more disciplined and provide more research updates here than over at that last website!