Hi, this is Ira Flato, and you're listening to Science Friday.

Today on the show, the story of how once rare birds became abundant in North America.

Some of the things that we do to try to conserve wildlife really do work.

The overall state of birds is nothing to chirp about.

Almost a third of North American bird species are in decline.

And in the last five decades, over 100 species have lost over half of their population.

That's primarily due to lack of food, fewer insects to eat, and habitat loss.

But there is a bright light within all that darkness.

Some birds that were once rare are now abundant, like the Merlin, Sandhill Crane, and pilliated woodpecker.

Joining me now to explain these remarkable comebacks, which he recently wrote about in the

online news site, The Conversation, and his conservation work to bring threatened species

back from the brink is my guest.

Dr. Tom Langan, professor of biology at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. Welcome to Science Friday.

Thank you, Ira. I'm happy to be here. Nice to have you. Okay, let's start with the Merlin. Before we get

into their decline and rebound, for our listeners who are not familiar with this bird, can you can give us Merlin 101?

Sure. A Merlin 101? Sure.

A Merlin is a falcon.

It's about the size of a pigeon.

It's not a large falcon, but it has that typical falcon shape.

It feeds on birds, so it's primarily a bird hunter.

Formerly, it was most sort of associated with the remote areas of Canada, the boreal forest.

It's an interesting falcon because it doesn't build its own nest.

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