16 bird species saved from extinction 1994 - 2004.
August 2006. A BirdLife study has discovered that conservation action saved sixteen bird species from extinction from 1994 - 2004. Representing just 1.3% of the world’s threatened birds, these successes stories show that, given the right political will and resources, we can turn back the tide of extinction.
The majority of these birds had populations numbering under 100 individuals in 1994, with just 4 known breeding pairs of Chatham Island Taiko( Pterodroma magentae,) only 4 breeding female Norfolk Island Green Parrots (Cyanoramphus cookie,) and 5 pairs of Mauritius Parakeet (Psittacula eques), 3 of which had bred without success.
‘By 2004 some species had undergone very significant population growth,’ said Stuart Butchart, one of the researchers. ‘Norfolk Island Green Parrot increased almost ten-fold from 32–37 individuals to 200–300 individuals, and Mauritius Parakeet ten-fold from five pairs to 55 pairs.’
Unfortunately, these 16 species are not a representative sample of all of the world’s threatened bird species, since 10 are confined solely to islands, where small-scale action is more effective, while over 50% of all threatened birds are continental and usually affected by larger-scale habitat loss and degradation.
¾ of the species could also be considered ‘charismatic’ (parrots, raptors, pigeons, large waterbirds etc.) while only ½ of all Critically Endangered birds would qualify. Butchart suspects that charismatic species may capture conservationists’ attention more easily, and are certainly easier to raise funds for, and to change public opinion about.
‘By 2004 some species had undergone very significant population growth,’ said Stuart Butchart, one of the researchers. ‘Norfolk Island Green Parrot increased almost ten-fold from 32–37 individuals to 200–300 individuals, and Mauritius Parakeet ten-fold from five pairs to 55 pairs.’
Unfortunately, these 16 species are not a representative sample of all of the world’s threatened bird species, since 10 are confined solely to islands, where small-scale action is more effective, while over 50% of all threatened birds are continental and usually affected by larger-scale habitat loss and degradation.
¾ of the species could also be considered ‘charismatic’ (parrots, raptors, pigeons, large waterbirds etc.) while only ½ of all Critically Endangered birds would qualify. Butchart suspects that charismatic species may capture conservationists’ attention more easily, and are certainly easier to raise funds for, and to change public opinion about.
Sadly, the improvement in the status of these species is also untypical. At least 45% of threatened bird species are judged to have deteriorated in status between 2000 and 2004.
Yet while Butchart believes that the sixteen species would have become extinct without the conservation efforts, he warns that they are by no means ‘saved’ from the threat of extinction and some can barely be seen as conservation successes.
‘The Bali Starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) only maintains a wild population due to the continued release of captive-bred birds, caused by the difficulty of preventing illegal trapping, and the numbers of Junín Grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii) continue to decline owing to inappropriate water-level regulation at the one lake where it is found. Many other species still have tiny populations and are reliant on continued conservation efforts to sustain or increase their populations.’
Yet while Butchart believes that the sixteen species would have become extinct without the conservation efforts, he warns that they are by no means ‘saved’ from the threat of extinction and some can barely be seen as conservation successes.
‘The Bali Starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) only maintains a wild population due to the continued release of captive-bred birds, caused by the difficulty of preventing illegal trapping, and the numbers of Junín Grebe (Podiceps taczanowskii) continue to decline owing to inappropriate water-level regulation at the one lake where it is found. Many other species still have tiny populations and are reliant on continued conservation efforts to sustain or increase their populations.’
