Huijie Qiao, Michael Orr, Qinmin Yang, Xiangjiang Zhan, Fumin Lei, Alice C. Hughes

Birdwatching is a global phenomenon involving many thousands of people. Citizen science generates data providing insights into global patterns of bird distribution across space and time, yet how the pandemic may cast a longer shadow remains unassessed. Here, we explore whether pandemic restrictions influenced observations globally from 2020-May 2021, considering also GDPc and tourism income. We analysed 10,338 bird species (93% of all bird species) and found that whilst high-income regions recover to pre-pandemic assessment rates quickly, middle and low-income regions remain at low levels. Furthermore, protected areas see huge losses in recorded richness. Whilst observer count increased overall, the number of bird species recorded dramatically decreased, especially in 2020. These trends are most marked in developing countries and regions, especially where tourism is important. Due to increased bushmeat consumption during the pandemic, some species may become more threatened, but with no data we cannot yet discern such trends.