Migrating birds face many perils as they travel between breeding and wintering grounds each year.
Migration is a dangerous part of a bird's life cycle, with many trade-offs; birds receive benefits from wintering and breeding in better quality habitats, at the price of higher predation risks and greater energy expenditure.
Hazards during migration include collisions with manmade objects such as glass windows and railings on buildings, power lines and communication towers, predation by pet and feral domestic cats, collisions with vehicles, and lack of stopover habitat where birds can refuel. Contrary to popular belief, collisions with wind turbines represent a relatively small proportion of bird mortality compared to other primary sources of collisions. The risk of starvation is increased when stopover sites are lost through climate change or loss of habitat to development or agriculture. Mortality on both breeding and wintering grounds may be increased for similar reasons.