Remember Wren?

One in eight bird species may go extinct

Posted at 3:04 PM on 19 May 2008

One in eight bird species is threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In the latest update of the IUCN's Red List of threatened species, 190 birds are designated "critically endangered"; eight of those were added this year. Sixteen other bird species were also moved to a higher level of threat on the list, while only two found their prospects improved. "Species are being hit by the double whammy of habitat loss and climate change," says Stuart Butchart of BirdLife International, which helped compile the list. The most endangered feathered fauna include the Mallee emuwren, of which only about 100 are left in the wild, and the Floreana mockingbird, which is hanging on with a population of 60. To save them, says Butchart, we need "broad-scale climate-change mitigation measures" and a change in "society's values and lifestyles." Full-on societal change? That's for the birds.

sources: Agence France-Presse, BBC News, Bloomberg, Reuters

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Comments: (4 comments)

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North American birds in trouble too

The birds named in this study are from East Asia and the Pacific; but habitat loss and climate change are affecting many North American birds too. And yet Dirk Kempthorne and the Department of the Interior have not been busy listing any, have they.

I like this hopeful note at the end of the AFP article:

<<
The rare pieces of good news offered by the IUCN were attributed to two successful conservation programmes.

The first involved the Marquesan Imperial-pigeon (Ducula galeata), whose signature call is a "deep bellow waah-waah, like the mooing of a cow," according to BirdLife.

The species, which is a native of French Polynesia, is doing well under a translocation programme which has shifted breeding pairs to a new home.

The other is the little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii). Individuals have been moved out of New Zealand's South Island to new territories and are slowly reproducing.

"This goes to show not only that conservation action works but that it is vital if we are to prevent the extinction of these and other species," Butchart said.

I hope I get to meet some day one of those Marquesan Imperial pigeons, not only in order to hear it moo like a cow, but because the genus name "Ducula" is adorable.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 9:41 AM on 20 May 2008

The Way of the Dragon

Ahh, my fine feathered friends will soon be joining me. That is awesome. Keep up the good work people.

by Dragon at 10:33 AM on 20 May 2008

Wildlife numbers plummet globally

A recently released report by the WWF shows that world wildlife populations have decreased by 25% since the 1970's...

World Wildlife Fund: http://www.wwf.org.uk/filelibrary/pdf/2010_and_beyond.pdf ...

Mike Johnston

by enki at 10:49 AM on 20 May 2008

Remember wren

And don't forget the elephant in the living room, namely us.

by erniecaldwell at 11:34 AM on 20 May 2008

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