8 species of birds have possibly gone extinct over past few decades

by Mongabay.com on 6 September 2018

A new study has found that eight species of birds are likely to have completely disappeared in the past couple of decades.

Researchers recommend that three species currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List be reclassified as extinct, while one be treated as extinct in the wild.

Four more bird species are dangerously close to extinction, if not already there, and should be re-classified as critically endangered (possibly extinct), researchers say.

Eight species of birds may have completely disappeared over the past couple of decades, a new study has found. Among these is the Spix’s macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), a bird that inspired the character of Blu in the 2011 animated film Rio. Found only in Brazil, the bird has not seen in the wild since 2000.

Like the Spix’s macaw, several other bird species are believed to have become extinct in recent years. To pinpoint the ones that may already be gone, researchers from BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations focusing on bird conservation, looked at 51 species of birds with a “reasonable possibility of being extinct.” These are species that have either not been seen in the wild for more than 10 years despite exhaustive surveys, or species that have been seen within the last 10 years, but whose tiny population has suffered well-documented decline.

Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s chief scientist, and his colleagues used a new statistical approach to arrive at the probability of extinction for the 51 species by combining information on the intensity of threats to the bird species, timing and reliability of records for the species, as well as timing and quality of efforts made to survey the species.

Based on their results, the researchers recommend that three species currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List be reclassified as extinct. These include the cryptic treehunter (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti), last seen in the wild in 2007; the Alagoas foliage-gleaner (Philydor novaesi), not seen in the wild since 2011; and the poʻo-uli (Melamprosops phaeosoma), not seen since 2004. The Spix’s macaw, which has some individuals surviving in captivity, should be reclassified as extinct in the wild, the researchers say in the study published in Biological Conservation.

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