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61% bird species face declining numbers globally: IUCN
The IUCN Red List update includes reassessments of 1,360 bird species by BirdLife International. It also includes 172,620 species of which 48,646 are threatened with extinction
New Delhi: The slender-billed curlew, a migratory shorebird last recorded in Morocco in 1995 has been declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A paper published in the journal Ibis (November 17, 2024) confirmed that the species is likely extinct.
The IUCN Red List update includes reassessments of 1,360 bird species by BirdLife International. Nearly 1,256 (11.5%) of the 11,185 species assessed are globally threatened. Overall, 61% of bird species have declining populations – increased from 44% in 2016, the assessment states.
“Fifteen years ago, the Slender-billed Curlew Working Group (SBCWG) sent expert volunteer observers out to scour suitable habitats in some 30 countries of the species’ non-breeding range to try to prove that it still existed. The paper published in Ibis last year shows that we were too late, and the bird was probably already functionally extinct at the time of the last incontrovertible sighting in 1995,” Nicola Crockford, chair of the SBCWG and observer on behalf of BirdLife International to AEWA and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) said in a note in the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
Diospyros angulata, a species in the same genus as ebony trees, last recorded in the early 1850s was also among six species declared extinct by IUCN on Friday.
Three Australian mammals, the marl, the south-eastern striped bandicoot; and the Nullarbor barred bandicoot; as well as Delissea sinuata, a plant native to the Hawaiian Islands, were assessed for the first time and enter the Red List as Extinct.
Christmas Island shrew and a species of cone snail were also in the list of extinct species.
The most prevalent cause of bird population declines is habitat loss and degradation, driven especially by agricultural expansion and intensification and logging – the foremost threats to birds at risk of extinction, IUCN said.
This update highlights Madagascar, West Africa, and Central America as regions where tropical forest loss poses a growing threat to birds. In Madagascar, 14 endemic forest bird species have been uplisted to Near Threatened and three to Vulnerable, including the Schlegel’s asity (Philepitta schlegeli), whose males have vibrant blue and green face wattles. In West Africa, five species are now Near Threatened, including the black-casqued hornbill (Ceratogymna atrata), which is also hunted and traded. In Central America, forest loss has pushed the tail-bobbing northern nightingale-wren (Microcerculus philomela) to Near Threatened.
“That three in five of the world’s bird species have declining populations shows how deep the biodiversity crisis has become and how urgent it is that governments take the actions they have committed to under multiple conventions and agreements,” said Dr Ian Burfield, BirdLife’s Global Science Coordinator (Species) and Bird Red List Authority Coordinator in a statement. “The restoration of native forest habitat on Rodrigues Island, facilitating the successful recovery of the endemic Rodrigues warbler (Acrocephalus rodericanus) from Critically Endangered in 1996 to Least Concern today, shows what is possible through partnership and perseverance.”
Birds play vital roles in ecosystems and for people, serving as pollinators, seed dispersers, pest controllers, scavengers and ecosystem engineers. For example, hornbills can disperse up to 12,700 large seeds per km² each day, supporting ecosystem function and carbon storage in tropical forests. However, agriculture, logging, invasive species, hunting and trapping, and climate change continue to pose significant threats to birds globally, IUCN warned.
The IUCN Red List now includes 172,620 species of which 48,646 are threatened with extinction. The update shows that the hooded seal has declined from Vulnerable to Endangered, while the bearded seal and harp seal have moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened.
The primary threat to Arctic seals is sea ice loss driven by global warming. Arctic seals rely on sea ice for breeding and raising their pups as well as for moulting, resting, and accessing foraging areas. Thinning and disappearing sea ice also affects Arctic seals’ feeding habits, and makes the Arctic more accessible to humans, further increasing the overall risk to these species, IUCN said.
Some Indian species are also doing poorly. “First-ever IUCN Red List assessment for the Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes)! Now listed as Vulnerable (A2ae; C1) — with only 2,877–3,310 mature individuals left in the wild. One of India’s most enigmatic predators stands on the brink — the time to act is now,” said Bilal Habib, professor, Wildlife Institute of India.
