500 bird species at risk of extinction in next 100 years

Two birds with horned bills and long tails on branch
Helmeted Hornbill (Buckeroos vigil) male and female. Credit: Hello my names is james,I’m photographer / iStock / Getty Images Plus.

Researchers analysed different threat factors such as habitat loss and climate change to find that 500 bird species could go extinct in the next century. Unique species are most at risk.

This would be a level of extinction 3 times higher than the previous 500 years of bird extinctions.

The study, published in the Nature Ecology & Evolution, warns that the loss of unique birds could harm ecosystems around the world.

Vulnerable birds include the bare-necked umbrellabird found in the forests of Costa Rica and Panam, helmeted hornbill from Southeast Asia and yellow-bellied sunbird-asity endemic to Madagascar.

“We face a bird extinction crisis unprecedented in modern times. We need immediate action to reduce human threats across habitats and targeted rescue programmes for the most unique and endangered species,” says lead author Kerry Stewart from the University of Reading, UK.

The researchers studied the behavioural and morphological traits of about 10,000 bird species – representing nearly all known bird species – using data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

Applying a statistical model, the researchers were able to show that large-bodied species were more at risk from hunting and climate change. Meanwhile, birds with broad wings suffer more from habitat loss.

“Stopping threats is not enough, as many as 250–350 species will require complementary conservation measures, such as breeding programmes and habitat restoration, if they are to survive the next century,” says senior author Dr Manuela Gonzalez-Suarez, also from the University of Reading. “Prioritising conservation programmes for just 100 of the most unusual threatened birds could save 68% of the variety in bird shapes and sizes. This approach could help to keep ecosystems healthy.”

“Many birds are already so threatened that reducing human impacts alone won’t save them,” adds Stewart. “These species need special recovery programmes, like breeding projects and habitat restoration, to survive.”

The authors say that “functionally unique” species – i.e. species that fill highly specialised ecological niches – are the most vulnerable. Likewise, the loss of such unique species could cause a cascading effect of harm for broader ecosystems.

“Effective targeted recovery programmes that explicitly consider species uniqueness hold great potential for conserving global functional diversity as a complementary strategy to threat abatement,” they write.

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