Invasive alien predators, especially rats, are the biggest threat to the birds of the Pacific region. Their spread across the Pacific has followed the movements of people, particularly Europeans, over the last two centuries. These invaders, as they “stepped off the boat”, heralded the beginning of the decline of many bird species. Today, the Pacific […]
Tag: birdlife international
POLL: Are nature laws a reason for UK to stay in the EU?
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has come out in support of the EU’s Nature Directives, citing environmental conservation as a big reason citizens should vote to remain in the EU in the national referendum on 23 June. “EU membership underpins many crucial environmental protections in the UK, while amplifying our voice in the world on […]
POLL: Should veterinary drugs containing diclofenac be banned?
According to a new study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology on Monday and analysing the potential effects of the use of veterinary diclofenac in Spain, the approval in that country of the use of these two new veterinary drugs containing diclofenac – Diclovet and Dolofenac – could jeopardise the viability of Europe’s most […]
Finding Petrel: an eight day voyage of discovery
A small, dark seabird with a white underbelly faces almost certain extinction unless its nesting grounds are found. It is with this sense of obligation that an intrepid BirdLife International team sets off on an eight day voyage of discovery this weekend. They will set out to sea on the trail of the Critically Endangered […]
New Sociable Lapwing habitats discovered in Uzbekistan
The Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwing is one of the world’s rarest and most threatened birds. It breeds in Kazakhstan and southern Russia and winters from Sudan to Pakistan and India. How it gets from its breeding grounds to its wintering areas is of great interest to conservationists, since hunting pressures along its migration routes is […]
The special plight of Trans-Saharan migratory birds
Long distance migratory birds that use the African Eurasian flyway have been in serious trouble for at least a few decades, more so than their counterparts that travel shorter distances. Major declines have been observed for a number of species – including popular symbols of spring, such as the Nightingale – that fly each year […]
Win for Critically Endangered Australian Regent Honeyeater in Court Decision
BirdLife Australia is celebrating a landmark court decision to protect the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater. In a desperately needed win for the Critically Endangered bird, the NSW Land and Environment Court has found in favour of a challenge to the approval of a development which would have destroyed its habitat. In the decision, it was […]
African vulture pilot study aims to reduce poisoning deaths
Saving Africa’s Vultures, a new project to tackle the continent’s escalating vulture crisis, is now up and running, with three initial, targeted pilot schemes in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe that aim to find out more about – and significantly reduce – the greatest threat facing African vultures: poisoning. Eleven species of vulture occur in Africa, […]