BBC Nature — A record number of bird species are now listed as threatened with extinction, a global assessment has revealed. The IUCN Red List evaluation considered 1,227, or 12%, of all known bird species to be at risk, with 192 species described as Critically Endangered.
The main threats affecting bird numbers continued to be agriculture, logging and invasive species, the report said. However, it added that where conservation measures had been put in place, bird populations had recovered.
“It is extremely worrying that the number of Critically Endangered birds on the IUCN Red List continues to increase, despite successful conservation initiatives around the world,” said Simon Stuart, chairman of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission.
The latest assessment, carried out by BirdLife International, uplisted nine species to Critically Endangered. One species to be listed as Critically Endangered in the global survey, which began in 1988, was the gorgeted puffleg (Eriocnemis isabellae), a colourful hummingbird that was only recently described for the first time. Conservationists say that the species only has about 1,200 hectares of habitat remaining in the cloud forests of south-west Colombia. Yet, they add, about 8% of this area is being lost every year as a result of commercial coca plantations.
The palila (Loxioides baiilleui) is another species that has been uplisted. This large finch has become the latest species to be categorised as Critically Endangered on Hawaii, which has become an “extinction hotspot for birds.” “It is yet another in a long line of Hawaiian species that have suffered as a result of the introduction of invasive species,” BirdLife International’s global species programme officer Jez Bird told BBC News. Some of the threats included grazing animals, which destroyed the birds’ habitat, and mosquitoes that carried avian malaria.
“There are now 14 species that are considered to be Critically Endangered on the islands, a number of which could possibly be extinct, so it is depressing to see another one apparently go the same way.”
The islands are isolated volcanic outcrops in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where the introduction of novel species quickly de-stabilises the archipelago’s ecosystems. Globally, the main threats facing bird populations continued to be agriculture, deforestation and invasive species, Mr Bird explained, adding that there was no sign of the threats disappearing in the near future. (05/14/09)
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