Through the efforts of National Geographic, the National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 2018 has been declared the Year of the Bird.

This year was chosen because it is the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, passed in 1918.  The Act implements a treaty that had been entered into between the United States and Canada to protect migratory birds.  It makes it illegal to “pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell birds listed therein.”  The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs and nests. Over 800 species are currently on the list of protected birds.