The Second Silent Spring?

The Second Silent Spring?

Krebs, John R., Jeremy D. Wilson, Richard B. Bradbury, and Gavin M. Siriwardena
Nature 400, no. 6745 (1999): 611–612
https://doi.org/10.1038/23127

“The Roman poet Catullus lamented the death of a pet sparrow (“Passer mortuus est meae puellae”), probably a house sparrow (Passer domesticus) or, just conceivably, a tree sparrow (P. montanus). In either case, a present-day Catullus would have ample cause for lamentation. Both kinds of Passer are among the many species of birds, invertebrates and plants that have declined dramatically in Northern Europe during the past 25 years.”

— Krebs et al.