In the 1960s, Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis became one of the world’s rarest birds when the population slumped to just 26 individuals, all on tiny Cousin island in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean. Formerly, the bird had been more widely distributed in the Seychelles, but habitat destruction and non-native species brought the warbler to […]
International appeal for Patagonian grebe in crisis
Recent surveys on its coastal Patagonian wintering grounds indicate that the Endangered Hooded Grebe Podiceps gallardoi has declined by 40% in the last seven years and this, along with alarming new threats detected on its breeding grounds during 2011, indicate action is now urgently required to prevent the rapidly increasing threat of its extinction. In […]
Snowy Owl Invasion
Snowy Owls lead nomadic lives and travel vast distances from year to year searching for productive feeding areas. Some years, most recently in the winter of 2011/2012, conditions cause them to come south in great numbers. Get an intimate look at these white owls from the north through video and photographs captured by the Cornell […]
Singing Kagu In Focus
The Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus of New Caledonia is an iconic bird that symbolises the challenges faced by many island species in the modern era. This charismatic species is classified as Endangered by BirdLife on behalf of the IUCN Red List on the basis of its very small, severely fragmented population which is suffering an overall […]
Whooping Cranes Face an Additional Threat from Humans
Standing 5 feet tall, the whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America. With fewer than 500 of these birds left in the wild, they are on the verge of extinction. Already up against weather and powerline collisions on their migration routes, endangered whooping cranes are now facing an additional threat from humans. In […]
BirdLife Pacific Invasive Species Programme
The BirdLife Pacific Partnership has started a new four-year European Union funded regional Invasive Species programme which seeks to reduce the spread and the environmental and socio-economic impact of invasive alien species by supporting the eradication and control of invasive alien species and also enhancing biosecurity. BirdLife Partners involved in the programme are Te Ipukerea […]
EU Environment Ministers fail to stand up for nature in face of farm lobby interests
On Monday 19 December the EU Environment Council in Brussels came out with conclusions on the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, in which the interests of the farm lobby purveyed over biodiversity protection. BirdLife Europe isdeeply concerned by the long and painful efforts of certain EU Environment Ministers that were revealed in weakening biodiversity protection in […]
Whooping Crane Found Fatally Shot in Indiana
News report that a Whooping Crane has been shot and killed in Indiana. What kind of person can wilfully shoot and kill such a graceful creature?