Researchers recommend that three species currently listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List be reclassified as extinct, while one be treated as extinct in the wild.
Four more bird species are dangerously close to extinction, if not already there, and should be re-classified as critically endangered (possibly extinct), researchers say.
Eight species of birds may have completely disappeared over the past couple of decades, a new study has found. Among these is the Spix’s macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), a bird that inspired the character of Blu in the 2011 animated film Rio. Found only in Brazil, the bird has not seen in the wild since 2000.
Like the Spix’s macaw, several other bird species are believed to have become extinct in recent years. To pinpoint the ones that may already be gone, researchers from BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations focusing on bird conservation, looked at 51 species of birds with a “reasonable possibility of being extinct.” These are species that have either not been seen in the wild for more than 10 years despite exhaustive surveys, or species that have been seen within the last 10 years, but whose tiny population has suffered well-documented decline.
To read more on this story, click here: 8 Species of Birds Have Possibly Gone Extinct Over Past Few Decades
FOLLOW US!
