An avicide is any substance (normally a
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
) used to kill
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s.
![Buitre negro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Buitre_negro.jpg)
Commonly used avicides include
strychnine
Strychnine (, , US chiefly ) is a highly toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the eye ...
(also used as rodenticide and predacide),
DRC-1339
Starlicide or gull toxicant is a chemical avicide that is highly toxic to European starlings (thus the name) and gulls, but less toxic to other birds or to mammals such as humans and pets.
Synonyms
The name Starlicide originated as a registere ...
(3-chloro-4-methylaniline hydrochloride, Starlicide) and
CPTH
Starlicide or gull toxicant is a chemical avicide that is highly toxic to European starlings (thus the name) and gulls, but less toxic to other birds or to mammals such as humans and pets.
Synonyms
The name Starlicide originated as a registered ...
(3-chloro-p-toluidine, the free base of Starlicide),
Avitrol (4-aminopyridine) and
chloralose
Chloralose (also known as α-chloralose) is an avicide, and a rodenticide used to kill mice in temperatures below 15 °C. It is also widely used in neuroscience and veterinary medicine as an anesthetic and sedative. Either alone or in combin ...
(also used as rodenticide). In the past, highly concentrated formulations of
parathion
Parathion, also called parathion-ethyl or diethyl parathion and locally known as "Folidol", is an organophosphate insecticide and acaricide. It was originally developed by IG Farben in the 1940s. It is highly toxic to non-target organisms, incl ...
in diesel oil were sprayed by aircraft over birds' nesting colonies.
Avicides are banned in many countries because of their ecological impact, which is poorly studied. They are still used in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The practice is criticized by animal rights advocates and those who kill birds with guns and traps. Pigeon fanciers sometimes poison problematic birds of prey, even in countries like Russia and Ukraine where avicides are illegal.
[Wegler, R.: Chemie der Pflanzenschutz- und Schädlingsbekämpfungsmittel, Band 1, Springer, 1970 (german) ]
See also
*
Bird kill
Bird kill is a localized event resulting in the death of large numbers of birds at the same time.
Scientific explanations
Large die offs of animals are not unusual in nature, and happen for a variety of reasons including bad weather, disease, an ...
References
External links
4-Aminopyridine*
ttp://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.2193%2F0091-7648(2004)032%5B0870%3ACBMFAD%5D2.0.CO%3B2&ct=1 BIOONE Online Journals - BIOONE Online Journals Access Controlbr>
E554-95 Guide for Use and Development of Strychnine as an Avicide (Withdrawn 2000)IngentaConnect DRC-1339 avicide fails to protect ripening sunflowers
Biocides
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