Evidence of declines in insect populations has recently received considerable scientific and societal attention. However, the lack of long-term insect monitoring makes it difficult to assess whether declines are geographically widespread. By contrast, bird populations are well monitored and often used as indicators of environmental change. We compared the population trends of European insectivorous birds with those of other birds to assess whether patterns in bird population trends were consistent with declines of insects. We further examined whether declines were evident for insectivores with different habitats, foraging strata, and other ecological preferences. Bird population trends were estimated for Europe (1990-2015) and Denmark (1990-2016). On average, insectivores declined over the study period (13% across Europe and 28% in Denmark), whereas omnivores had stable populations. Seedeaters also declined (28% across Europe; 34% in Denmark), but this assessment was based on fewer species than for other groups. The effects of insectivory were stronger for farmland species (especially grassland species), for ground feeders, and for cold-adapted species. Insectivory was associated with long-distance migration, which was also linked to population declines. However, many insectivores had stable populations, especially habitat generalists. Our findings suggest that the decline of insectivores is primarily associated with agricultural intensification and loss of grassland habitat. The loss of both seed and insect specialists indicates an overall trend toward bird communities dominated by diet generalists.

Department of Bioscience Aarhus University Kalø Grenåvej 14 8410 Rønde Denmark

DOF BirdLife Denmark Vesterbrogade 140 1620 Copenhagen Denmark Department of Bioscience Aarhus University Kalø Grenåvej 14 8410 Rønde Denmark

Pan European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme Czech Society for Ornithology Na Bělidle 34 150 00 Prague Smíchov Czech Republic

Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany Institute of Ecology Evolution and Diversity Goethe University Frankfurt Max von Laue Street 13 60439 Frankfurt am Main Germany

Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Senckenberganlage 25 60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany Norwegian Institute for Nature Research P O Box 5685 Torgard 7485 Trondheim Norway German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Deutscher Pl 5E 04103 Leipzig Germany

References provided by Crossref.org