As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 24 April 2019

Two bird species at risk of extinction


Caroline Chebet  10th Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Two bird species endemic to Taita Forest have been classified as critically endangered.
This has been attributed to extensive logging, forest fires and fragmentation of the vital ecosystem for farming.
The birds, Taita thrush and Taita apalis, according to Birld Life International and International Union for Nature and Conservation (IUCN) Red List, are critically endangered, meaning, they face high risk of extinction in the wild with their declining population trend.
Population estimate shows a declining trend of the birds, with Taita apalis estimated to be less than 150 mature birds and Taita thrush numbering 930, according to IUCN Red List.
Taita apalis currently survives in just four habitat fragments.
Taita thrush is less known than Taita apalis, but recent assessments suggest dramatic and rapid decrease as well. Its global population probably ranges between 500 and 1,000 birds and is restricted to just four forest fragments.
The statuses of the birds were last accessed in October 2016, with IUCN publishing the new studies in 2018. Still, it remained critically endangered.
‘Most of the original forest in the Taita Hills has been cleared for cultivation or reforested with non-native, timber-tree species, and the remaining tiny area is under serious threat. Lack of clear boundary demarcations for some protected forest fragments may compromise conservation efforts,” Birldlife International notes.
In 1997, population of Taita thrush was estimated to be 1,350 birds, occupying areas of Mbololo, Ngangao and Chawia.


No comments:

Post a Comment