Virus decimating once strong blackbird population

The common blackbird has disappeared from almost a half of Czech gardens since last summer, when the Usutu virus started decimating its once strong population, the Czech Union for Nature Conservation (CSOP) said in a press release today. The blackbird has almost died out in Prague and Central Bohemia, though it was the most common bird species in Czech gardens until 2018. Nature conservation experts blame the blackbird population decline on Usutu, a virus of African origin, which blackbirds are more prone to catch than other bird species.