Bird species on extinction 'red list' increases to almost 200

The number of bird species around the world threatened with extinction has risen this year to almost 200 species despite conservation efforts, according to the latest international report.
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 13 May 09;

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species found more than 10 per cent of all bird species - a total of 1,227 - are in danger of being wiped out including birds in Britain like the red kite and curlew.

Of this, 192 bird species are listed as "critically endangered", which means they face an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

The number of birds in the "critically endangered" category increased by nine this year while the number downgraded to just "endangered" was seven meaning there are two more species in the more serious category.

Among those added to the list is a colourful species of hummingbird only recently discovered in Colombia, the gorgeted puffleg. Its tiny fragment of habitat, just 1,200 hectares in the cloud forests of the Pinche mountain range, is being destroyed for coca farming.

The Sidamo lark of Ethiopia has been moved from endangered up to critically endangered, as it faces the danger of becoming mainland Africa's first bird extinction due to changes in land use.

And on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, which drew on evidence collected on the Galapagos, one of the islands' bird species, the medium tree-finch, has been listed as critically endangered for the first time.

The species is threatened by an introduced parasitic fly and because it has such a small, restricted range, any threat makes the bird very vulnerable, according to BirdLife International.

Simon Stuart, chairman of the IUCN's species survival commission, was disappointed more birds are "critically endangered" despite efforts around the world to protect bird habitats.

"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," he said.

Hummingbird discovered in 2005 close to extinction
Michael McCarthy, The Independent 14 May 09;

It was only discovered in 2005 – and now it has been added to the list of the world's most endangered birds.

The gorgeted puffleg, a brilliantly coloured hummingbird from Colombia, may be on the way out before the scientific world has had a proper chance to take its existence in.

It is one of 192 bird species named yesterday as "critically endangered", the highest risk category on the Red List of species threatened with extinction, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to the latest Red List update, carried out for the IUCN by BirdLife International, some 12 per cent of all bird species – a total of 1,227 – are threatened with extinction around the world. The critically endangered total of 192 is two more than in 2008, and while some species have been downgraded from the highest threat level, a dozen very rare birds have been added to the list.

The gorgeted puffleg, Eriocnemis isabellae, a spectacular creature characterised by a green and blue throat patch, is on the list because its tiny fragment of habitat, just 1,200 hectares in the cloud forests of the Serrania del Pinche mountain range, is being destroyed for coca farming.

Other species newly moved on to the critically endangered list include the Sidamo lark of Ethiopia, which faces becoming the first African bird of modern times to become extinct, because of changes in land use, and the hooded grebe which is found only in a few lakes of southern Argentina and Chile.

But some species have been "downlisted" from critically endangered to endangered after conservation work put their populations on a more stable basis. They include the Lear's macaw, a spectacular blue parrot from Brazil, the Chatham petrel from New Zealand, and the Mauritius fody, a stunning scarlet and brown weaver bird from the Indian Ocean which has been rescued after the relocation and establishment of a new population on to a predator-free island.

Birds at risk reach record high
Mark Kinver, BBC News 13 May 09;

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.

Unwelcomed guests

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 destabilises 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.

"Invasive species are something that is very well addressed by conservation efforts, and there is scope to avoid extinctions and turning species' fortunes around," he said.

"But things like agriculture and logging are continent-wide and much bigger problems.

"To tackle these in the long-term will require policy engagements rather than action on the ground."

Silver lining

While the overall trend was bleak for bird species, Mr Bird said that conservation efforts were paying dividends, such as in the case of the Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra).

"It's endemic to the islands of Mauritius, where the dodo went extinct along with a number of other species.

"But gradually this has been turned around and we have seen a number of species in recent years being downlisted to lower categories, including this fody."

He said this was a result of work by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation to tackle the threats posed by invasive species and habitat degradation.

The foundation had also established another population of fody on an offshore island, he added.

"Thanks to that introduction, there is now a secure population that is away from the immediate threats of invasive species, etc."

Mr Bird added that 32 species listed as Critically Endangered were the focus of conservation efforts, as part of the BirdLife International's Preventing Extinctions Programme.

Overall, this year's Red List saw 77 species change categories. While many alterations were the result of better data, 12 were the result of changes in population size or potential threats.

While nine species were uplisted to Critically Endangered, six were downlisted to Endangered.

"What the changes in this year's IUCN Red List tell us is that we can still turn things around for these species," said Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's global research and indicators co-ordinator.

"There just has to be the will to act."

Birds swell the ranks of critically endangered species
Andy Coghlan, New Scientist 14 May 09;

Darwin would not be amused. A bird native to the Galapagos islands, the medium tree-finch, this year joined 191 other bird species newly added to the critically endangered list, the roster of the world's most threatened species.

But while the medium-tree finch is in jeopardy because of parasitic flies introduced to the islands, most of the species on this year's red list of threatened species are imperilled by inexorable loss of their habitat.

"The absolute number one factor is habitat destruction or deterioration," says Martin Fowlie of BirdLife, the organisation in Cambridge, UK, which compiles the bird entries for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's red list of endangered species.

Overall, the number of threatened bird species rose this year by just one, to 1227 – about 12 per cent of all species – with the 192 in the critically endangered category up just two. But the numbers mask much wider fluctuations in the fortunes of troubled species, with 77 changing category from last time, some up and some down.
Boost in numbers

Aside from the Galapagos medium tree-finch, eight other species were uplisted to critically endangered. They include the sidamo lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis) from the Liben Plain of Ethiopia, which could become Africa's first bird extinction due to a change in land use.

There was some good news, however, with six critically endangered species downgraded to "endangered". Some owed their reclassification to successful conservation programmes. The threat to the Mauritius Fody, for example, was lifted by moving the remaining birds to an island off Mauritius free of predators.

Another success story is Brazil's Lear's macaw, named after the English nonsense poet Edward Lear. The spectacular parrot has increased fourfold in number through a joint programme involving the Brazilian government, local landowners and conservation organisations.

Aside from habitat loss and predation, the other ominous factor is the impact of climate change, says Fowlie. Mountain-living birds, for example, would die out if the climate they rely on shifts north or south to non-mountainous zones.

See some of the birds newly added to the Red List

More Critically Endangered birds on IUCN Red List than ever
IUCN Press Release 14 May 09;

The latest evaluation of the world’s birds reveals that more species than ever are threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.

BirdLife International, which conducted the research for the IUCN Red List, found 1,227 species (12 percent) are classified as globally threatened with extinction. The good news is that when conservation action is put in place, species can be saved.

The IUCN Red List now lists 192 species of bird as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category, a total of two more than in the 2008 update.

“It extremely worrying that the number of Critically Endangered birds on the IUCN Red List continues to increase, despite successful conservation initiatives around the world,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission.

A recently discovered species from Colombia, the Gorgeted Puffleg (Eriocnemis isabellae), appears for the first time on the IUCN Red List, classified as Critically Endangered. The puffleg, a flamboyantly coloured hummingbird, only has 1,200 hectares of habitat remaining in the cloud forests of the Pinche mountain range in south-west Colombia and eight percent of this is being damaged every year to grow coca.

The Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis), from the Liben Plain of Ethiopia, has been moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered and is in danger of becoming mainland Africa’s first bird extinction due to changes in land use. And coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, one of the Galapagos finches, the Medium Tree-finch (Camarhynchus pauper) also becomes Critically Endangered, partly as a result of an introduced parasitic fly.

“In global terms, things continue to get worse – but there are some real conservation success stories this year to give us hope and point the way forward,” says Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science and Policy.

It’s not only rare birds that are becoming rarer; common birds are becoming less common. In eastern North America, the Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) is fast disappearing from the skies. Following continent-wide declines of nearly 30 percent in the last decade alone, this common species has been moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened.

“Across Africa, widespread birds of prey are also disappearing at an alarming rate, and emblematic species such as Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) have been placed in a higher category of threat as a result,” says Jez Bird, BirdLife’s Global Species Programme Officer. “These declines are mirrored in many species, in every continent.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom. In Brazil, Lear’s Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) has been moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered. Named after the English poet, this spectacular blue parrot has increased four-fold in numbers as a result of a joint effort of many national and international non-governmental organizations, the Brazilian government and local landowners.

In New Zealand, the Chatham Petrel (Pterodroma axillaris) has benefited from work by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and has consequently been moved from Critically Endangered to Endangered. In Mauritius, the stunning Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra) has been rescued from the brink of extinction after the translocation and establishment of a new population on a predator-free offshore island. It is now classified as Endangered, rather than Critically Endangered.

Similar work is now also underway for 32 Critically Endangered species as part of the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme.

“Both the petrel and fody have suffered from introduced invasive species, and tackling these is one of the 10 key actions needed to prevent further bird extinctions that BirdLife has identified,” says Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s Global Research and Indicators Coordinator. “But to achieve this goal, more resources are needed. What the changes in this year’s IUCN Red List tell us is that we can still turn things around for these species. There just has to be the will to act.”

Birds More At Risk; World Failing In Conservation
Alister Doyle, PlanetArk 14 May 09;

OSLO - The list of birds threatened with extinction has grown fractionally; a new sign that governments are failing to meet a 2010 global conservation goal, an annual review of birds showed on Thursday.

A 2009 "Red List" added birds including the newly discovered gorgeted puffleg -- a bright-coloured Colombian hummingbird -- the Sidamo lark in Ethiopia and a Galapagos finch to the worst category of "critically endangered".

"Despite government commitments to slow biodiversity loss, things are getting a little worse every year," said Jean-Christophe Vie, deputy head of the species programme of the International Union for Conservation of Nature which runs the list.

Vie told Reuters that a few species were taken off threatened lists after successful conservation. Overall, the number of threatened birds grew by one since 2008 to 1,227 -- 12 percent of all species.

And 192 species were rated "critically endangered", up two overall from 2008. Nine were added to the category and seven taken out, most of them eased to "endangered".

Governments agreed in 2002 to make a "significant reduction" in the rate of biodiversity losses of animals and plants by 2010 -- from threats such as destruction of habitats from expanding farms or cities and the impact of climate change.

Vie said a hidden problem was that many common birds were getting less frequent in the skies but were not yet rated endangered. "There are groups you don't see any more in large numbers -- such as swifts, larks, swallows," he said.

"In global terms, things continue to get worse -- but there are some real conservation success stories this year," Leon Bennun, director of science and policy at BirdLife, which did the research for the Red List, said in a statement.

MAURITIUS

The Chatham Petrel in New Zealand and the Mauritius fody were both shifted down a notch to "endangered" from "critically endangered" after conservation work.

Among the most threatened, the bright-coloured puffleg was found only in a small mountainous area of Colombia, where forests were being cleared to grow coca.

In Ethiopia, the Sidamo lark could become mainland Africa's first bird extinction, because of changes in land use. And the medium-tree finch in the Galapagos was added to the critically endangered list because of an introduced parasitic fly.

Yet Vie said birds were not faring as badly as some other groups of creatures such as amphibians, which are most threatened by disease, or mammals which are more often targeted by hunters.

(Editing by Jon Hemming)

Group says 3 more birds close to extinction
Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press Yahoo News 13 May 09;

GENEVA – An Ethiopian lark, a Galapagos finch and a spectacularly colored hummingbird only recently discovered in Colombia have been added to the list of the world's most threatened species, an environmental group said Thursday. The International Union for Conservation of Nature — the producer each year of a Red List of endangered species — said the Sidamo lark could soon become Africa's first known bird extinction as the Ethiopian savanna becomes overgrown by bush, farmland and overgrazing.

"This is a species that is absolutely on the edge," said Martin Fowlie, spokesman for the Britain-based BirdLife International, whose monitoring determines which birds are included on the list.

The Sidamo lark is joined as a "critically endangered" species by the medium tree-finch in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands and the gorgeted puffleg — a Colombian mountain bird with an appearance as flamboyant as its name.

The black bird with a puffy white underbelly and a blue-and-green throat was only discovered in 2005, but is surviving on just 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of habitat left in the cloud forests of the Pinche mountain range, which are being lost to coca growing.

"Cocaine production is the main threat," Fowlie told The Associated Press, adding that only about 25 of the pufflegs have been seen. The total puffleg population, he said, "is likely to be incredibly small."

The situation for some species has improved, however.

New Zealand's Chatham petrel, whose dark gray stripes give its wings an "M" appearance, has been moved to endangered from critically endangered, thanks to conservation work from authorities, the conservation body said.

It said the Mauritius fody also has recovered from the brink of extinction after a community was moved to an offshore island free of predators, while Brazil's Lear's macaw, a massive blue parrot, has increased fourfold in recent years as a result of joint efforts between government authorities, environmentalists and local landowners.

"In global terms, things continue to get worse," said Leon Bennun, science and policy chief at BirdLife. "But there are some real conservation success stories this year to give us hope and point the way forward."

In total 1,227 species were classified as globally threatened with extinction. That accounts for 12 percent of all birds.

While some rare birds are becoming rarer, the conservation body also noted the decline of more common species such as North America's chimney swift. There are still believed to be millions of the long-range migrants in the skies, but the population fell nearly 30 percent in the last decade. It is now being qualified as a "near threatened" species.