MANY of Scotland's land-based birds have declined in numbers since the mid-2000s, according to new figures.
There has been a significant decline in stonechats, buzzards, greenfinches and jackdaws in particular.
The new research on terrestrial breeding birds has also highlighted the decline since 1994 in kestrels, skylarks, capercaillie and lapwings. Factors for the falls include disease, severe winters, shortages of insects, poor breeding and - for swifts - a lack of suitable buildings for their nests.
Some species have increased in numbers, according to the Index of Abundance for Scottish Terrestrial Breeding Birds, 1994 to 2013 report. They include chiffchaffs, cuckoos, ravens and house sparrows. A rise in golden plovers has been linked to an abundance in the larvae of cranefly, also known as daddy longlegs.
Over the past year the farmland, woodland and all-species indices decreased by 10 per cent. This decline may be partly attributable to the weather conditions in 2012 which resulted in a poor breeding season and subsequently fewer adult birds breeding in 2013.
SNH ornithologist Andy Douse said: "Early indications are that the 2014 breeding season has been better for some species that have shown a pattern of low breeding success."
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