NYC sky-scrapers* dim lights to help migratory birds

Sometimes Americans seem a lot crazy, but not this time. 

They are really concerned about the migratory birds that cross the Big Apple's sky.

Congratulations!

A growing number of New York sky-scrapers are switching off their lights to help reduce the number of birds hitting the high-rise buildings.

The "lights out" project - organised by NYC Audubon - runs until 1 November, when migratory birds are expected to have completed their autumn migrations.

The Empire State and Chrysler buildings are among those dimming their lights.

An estimated 90,000 birds each year are killed in the city as a result of striking glass-fronted buildings.

Organisers of the annual initiative, now in its fifth year, say the bright lights disorientate the migrating birds and override their natural navigational cues.

NYC Audubon - a group that works to protect wild birds and their habitats within the city - is calling on owners and tenants in high-rise buildings to turn off lights on unoccupied floors or unused space between midnight and dawn.

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A similar project in Toronto, Canada, suggests that "across North America, more birds die from collisions each year than succumbed to the Exxon Valdez oil spill", which claimed the lives of in excess of 250,000 birds.


* Sky-scrapers- arranha-céus