The research, compiled by nature conservation groups including the RSPB, found that nearly half of the UK's native bird species are in decline. Prof Richard Gregory, head of monitoring at the RSPB, described the findings as "shocking and sobering".
"Birds are indicators of the way we're looking after the countryside and the world around us," he said. "We're losing the birds that people are so emotionally connected to and want to protect."
Turtle doves have declined by more than half in five years, with no sign of recovery from the brink of extinction. Swifts, whose arrival marks the beginning of summer for many, have fallen by about 25 percent over the same period, an average of nearly 6 percent a year across the UK. Bullfinches fell at a similar rate nationally. Tree sparrows, wood warblers and capercaillie were among the birds with the next biggest average annual decreases between 2019 and 2024.
Farmland birds and seabirds have been particularly badly affected in recent years, the data shows. The figures are produced jointly by the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the RSPB, and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
The report underscores the continued pressure on UK wildlife from changes in land use, agricultural intensification, and other environmental factors, though the source does not specify exact causes.