Collapse in number of migratory birds

The nation’s favourite species of globe-trotting birds are disappearing, with numbers of swallows, swifts, and cuckoos all plummeting.

Birdwatch Ireland development officer Niall Hatch yesterday said preliminary readings from the latest nationwide bird atlas showed an alarming drop in the population of cuckoos.

The migratory species of swallows and swifts are also falling fast, largely due to a decline in the insect population because of changing farming practices.