A new study has found that bird species in forest areas in the Canadian Maritime provinces are threatened by habitat loss due to changes in forest composition caused by logging.

The results were presented in a research paper published on Thursday in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Researchers from the University of Oregon examined data on 54 of the most common bird species in the Acadian forests of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island between 1985 and 2020.

Overall, researchers estimate that 33 to 104 million birds died over a 35-year period due to forest degradation, indicating a loss of biodiversity and forest health.

Since 1985, more than three million hectares of forest have been cut down while old forests have declined by 39 percent. Author Matt Betts said in a press release published on Friday: "Due to increasing global demand for wood, more and more land is being exploited for timber extraction."

The golden-crowned kinglet was among the bird species that suffered the largest loss, having declined by 38 percent during the study period.

It was followed by the Blackburnian warbler, which was found to have lost 33 percent of its habitat. There were seven species that experienced a decline of more than 25 percent.

Nine bird species also experienced population declines exceeding 30 percent over 10 years, qualifying these species to be classified as "threatened" according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

Betts said: "Overall, the results we have found indicate widespread declines in forest birds in the Acadian forest, for most species.