By BONNIE LEE STRUNK

Special to The Press

Tell most people their work is for the birds, and they would be insulted.

Not Daniel Klem Jr. He would be honored.

The Sarkis Acopian Professor of Ornithology and Conservation Biology at Muhlenberg College has devoted almost five decades of his life and career to studying bird behavior and the tragic loss of avian creatures that collide with window glass.

His passion and years of scientific research have been compiled in a 224-page book, “Solid Air/Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows,” released by Hancock House Publishers on Oct. 9, World Migratory Bird Day.

In the book, Klem, of Upper Macungie Township, hopes to educate citizens of the world about the threat to birds from reflective and clear sheet glass.

Klem grew up in the Wilkes Barre area, a nature-loving country boy, he says, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Wilkes University and a Master of Science degree in biology from Hofstra University.

After serving in the military during the Vietnam War, he pursued a Ph.D. in zoology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

He credits an ornithology professor at Hofstra for getting him interested in birds.

The death-by-window-glass problem soon became Klem’s specialty.

Through observation and scientific research, Klem determined billions of birds die annually worldwide because of collisions with glass window panes.

His findings have been published in books and magazine articles and he is known throughout the world as a leading expert on deadly window strikes.

Klem has been invited to speak on the subject extensively, including to groups in Armenia, Australia, Germany, Singapore and Brazil.

His research has been used and he has consulted on numerous building projects, including at Niagara Falls, for the observation tower there, and at Swathmore College’s arboretum campus near Philadelphia.

At Muhlenberg College, where he has been teaching since 1979, Klem was instrumental in having bird-safe glass installed on the Shankweiler Science Building in 2007.

“We have to interpret birds’ skills, how they see the world. Birds have visual system limitations,” explains Klem.

Because glass reflects the environment, such as sky and trees, birds are confused and do not see glass as a barrier. They see it as a clear flight path, according to Klem.

Windows are illusions to birds, Klem notes, adding that birds also can see foliage and landscape artwork inside buildings through clear sheet glass and think they can fly there, only to meet their demise when they try.

“The more patterning on the glass, the more protection,” Klem pointed out, mentioning acid etchings, ceramic frit patterns bonded to glass, and ultraviolet film on windows as some solutions to the problem.

He has worked with several glass manufacturers, testing their products and conducting research.

To be an effective deterrent, Klem explains, vertical markings must be spaced no more than four inches apart and horizontal markings no more than two inches apart across the entire window.

“The spaces in between should be too narrow to fly through,” he added.

When asked about his intended audience for the book, Klem responded, “I want to educate every citizen on the planet about the value of birds and the threat to birds from sheet glass.”

He believes people have the power to influence architects, developers, urban planners, builders, legislators, glass manufacturers, homeowners and legal professionals to make all new buildings safe for birds.

Noting that humans build the structures which unintentionally kill birds, Klem maintains, “We humans have the power to correct the problem.”

Klem’s book is available at amazon.com, hancockhouse.com, and barnesandnoble.com.