Solid Air. Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows

The issue of bird–building collisions has received increased attention in recent years, both from the scientific community and the general public. Well-publicized events such as the death of nearly 400 birds at a Galveston, Texas building on May 4, 2017, and media coverage of the issues with the Minnesota Vikings’ glass-veiled stadium may seem like exceptional outliers, but through Solid Air, Klem makes the case that these events are not exceptions to the rule, they are the rule. Indeed, as Klem notes on more than one occasion, annual estimates of bird–building collisions for the United States alone may total as many as one billion (Loss et al. 2014). Given the relatively small amount of study that window collisions have received in the past, we may even be underestimating the magnitude of this important conservation issue. The subject matter of Solid Air is rather depressing, and it is likely that many of its readers are those intimately familiar with bird–building collisions. Indeed, anyone reading this book is likely to have discovered the imprint of a bird on their window or have found the remains of a beautiful Neotropical migrant below a window at their home. For those not as familiar with the material, Klem quickly brings them up to speed through a concise primer on the issues with reflective glass. Stories such as the one of an abandoned building that entrapped American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) until their death are crushing, but Klem uses these sparingly and to great effect. Twelve chapters of varying length divide the book into a logical procession not wholly different from that of a peer-reviewed scientific paper. Klem’s career in academia devoted to making the case for the importance of understanding and addressing window collisions has no doubt affected the structure of this book. However, while the original intent of the text may have been a focused description of the factors leading to bird–building collisions and the challenges associated with addressing those issues, the book provides much more than that. Solid Air also serves as the life story of one man’s journey as an ecological researcher, and the trials and tribulations of publishing work on a subject not in fashion. Klem is not shy about detailing his frustration with the scientific community, and his critiques are warranted. Championing the work of a small but devoted group of individuals keen on affecting conservation action, Klem recalls a quote by Calvin Coolidge. To paraphrase, when talent, education, or genius fall short, persistence and dedication will ultimately solve the problem. The same could be said for Klem’s career. His work is finally being given the serious attention it truly deserves, and the issues surrounding bird–building collisions are getting broader support and outreach from organizations with public appeal such as the American Bird Conservancy and National Audubon Society. However, with nearly three billion birds gone from the North American landscape over the period Klem has devoted to researching window collisions (1970–2017; Rosenberg et al. 2019), can we wait for persistence and dedication to eventually get us