10 birds that came back from the brink of extinction

Ann Schmidt

Jan. 2, 2019, 2:15 PM

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps a record of animals, fungi, and plants that are on the brink of extinction on their Red List of Threatened Species.

There are more than 26,500 species that are threatened with extinction, including 14% of birds.

Even though some species are at risk of becoming extinct, they can still make a comeback.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps a record of animals, fungi, and plants that are on the brink of extinction on their Red List of Threatened Species.

For each of the 96,500 total species that have been analyzed by the IUCN, each is listed on a scale of danger that goes: Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, and Least Concern.

There are more than 26,500 species that are threatened with extinction on the list, including 14% of birds, according to the IUCN.

Just because a species is at risk of becoming extinct, however, doesn't mean it will. With the work of conservationists, animals can come back and thrive.

Here are 10 birds species that returned from the brink of extinction.

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One tenth of bird species have been flying under the conservation radar

The first of a two-part comprehensive taxonomic review, carried out by Birdlife international on behalf of the IUCN, has led to the recognition of 361 new species of non-passerine birds, which were previously treated as ‘races’ of other forms.

Somali ostrich

This brings the total number of non-passerine birds – such as birds of prey, seabirds, waterbirds and owls – to 4,472 different species and worryingly means that previous classifications have undersold avian diversity at the species level by more than 10 per cent.

“Put another way, one tenth of the world’s bird species have been flying below the conservation radar,” said Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s Head of Science.

This new data has thrown fresh light on the conservation status on different species and has led to a quarter of the 361 new species being added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - making them urgent priorities for conservation action.

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Myna 'guity of evicting Aussie birds'

Debate has raged for more than a decade about the damage caused by swelling myna populations, both in Australia and other countries around the world, leading the pesky bird to be rated No. 3 on the IUCN's list of the worst invasive species. Now a team of Australian researchers has come up with what is thought to be the world's first clear proof that mynas do indeed have a negative impact on native bird numbers. In a long running study, Kate Grarock and her colleagues of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) and Australian National University investigated 20 birds species round the national capital, Canberra, analysing ornithological records of bird abundance collected by the Canberra Ornithologists Group (COG). COG established the Canberra Garden Bird Survey (GBS) in 1981 in which volunteers surveyed birds in and around the city. Observers survey an area of 3.1 hectares every fortnight for a 120-minute period. A total of 74 492 surveys was undertaken in Canberra over 29 years "We found a negative relationship between the establishment of the Common Myna and the long-term abundance of three Australian cavity-nesting species and eight small bird species," Ms Grarock says. The birds most affected by mynas were cavity nesters like the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, Laughing Kookaburra, and small birds such as the Superb Fairy-Wren, Striated Pardalote, Rufous Whistler, Willie Wagtail, Grey Fantail, Magpie-lark, House Sparrow, Silvereye and Common Blackbird. Larger birds like magpies, wattlebirds, galahs, ravens and currawongs appeared unaffected. "To the best of our knowledge, this finding has never previously been demonstrated at the population level," she adds. "It is particularly difficult to track the impact of an invasive species on native wildlife when it isn't an actual predator, as this can take place subtly and over a long time and can vary season by season," she says. "Also you need to know whether it is the invader that is causing the damage – or whether it is simply due to habitat change, such as cities expanding."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-11-myna-guity-evicting-aussie-birds.html#jCp