Majority of the world's bird species in decline

MORE than six in 10 bird species around the world are in decline as agriculture and logging threaten their homes, conservation experts have warned.

- EMILY BEAMENT [e-mail]

> In Central America forest loss has pushed the northern nightingale-wren to near threatened status

(PA)

The latest update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species also warns that three species of Arctic seals have been pushed closer to extinction in the face of global warming, with the hooded seal now listed as "endangered".

Globally, six species have been moved into the "extinct" category, according to the latest Red List, including the Christmas Island shrew, a species of cone snail and the slender-billed curlew, while three Australian mammals were declared as extinct in their first assessment.

But there is brighter news for green sea turtles, which have gone from endangered to "least concern" status following decades of conservation efforts.

The latest IUCN Red List update includes assessments that reveal an estimated 61% of bird species worldwide have declining populations, an increase from 44% in 2016.

More than one in 10 (11%) of the 11,185 bird species assessed for the Red List are globally threatened.

The most prevalent cause for declines in bird populations, which play a vital role in natural systems as pollinators, seed dispersers, pest controllers and scavengers, is their habitats being lost or degraded.

This is driven particularly by expanding and more intensive farming, and logging, which are the main threats to birds at risk of extinction, conservationists said.