As many as 50 million birds are killed annually in US cell-tower collisions. As more towers go up, builders and researchers eye solutions.

Today FAA regulations require both steady red lights and flashing red or flashing white ones. What Gehring found: Solid steady red lights were a big problem – creating an aura during cloudy weather that drew in birds.

When solid reds were removed, bird deaths fell 71 percent, according to Gehring’s study, which has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication later this year by the Journal of Ecological Applications.

[Read](http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0326/p16s01-sten.html “Read the Article”) (Christian Science Monitor)