Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2009
Evidence from a survey conducted by the European Continental Section of the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP-ECS) suggests that birds have not served as such good early warning indicators of ecological damage from acid precipitation as they have for damage from organochlorine pesticide use. Only a few highly specialized species have been badly affected, and then long after the impact was observed in other organisms. Some birds have even benefited from the superabundance of dead and decaying standing timber.