8 species of birds have disappeared this decade or are on the brink of extinction

In the animated film 2011 Rio, a Macaw of the Spix family, bred in captivity, arrives in Brazil to mate with the last wild member of his species, a woman named Jewel. In real life, however, Rio would have come a decade too late.

According to a recent study, Spix's last wild macaw disappeared in 2000 and the species is now considered extinct outside a handful of specimens born and bred in captivity. To this are added seven other species of birds that have suffered the same fate during the last decade.

The study, funded by the non-profit organization BirdLife International, analyzed statistically 51 critically endangered bird species and found that eight of them could probably be classified as extinct or very close to extinction. . More precisely, three are already extinct, one is extinct in the wild – it is estimated that 70 Macaws of Spix (Cyanopsitta spixii), remained in the world, all captives – and four are very close to extinction, if not already done.

The species of missing birds identified in the new study are the Brazilian cryptic tree hunter (Cichlocolaptes mazarbarnetti), last seen in 2007; the Brazilian leaflet-alagoas (Philydor novaesi), last seen in 2011; and the Hawaiian-faced bee nest (Melamprosops phaeosoma), last seen in 2004.

A total of 187 bird species have disappeared since scientists began keeping records. Historically, the native birds of the islands have been the most vulnerable because of invasive species, but deforestation has intensified because of the expansion of agriculture and logging is expanding quickly as the main factor of avian extinction.

"Over the past centuries, 90% of bird extinctions have been done on islands," said Dr. Stuart Butchart, Chief Scientist of BirdLife and lead author of the paper. "However, our results confirm that there is a growing wave of extinctions across the continents, driven mainly by habitat loss and degradation resulting from unsustainable agriculture and of logging ".

Spix adult macaw in Vogelpark Walsrode, Germany in 1980. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Butchart and his colleagues hope their work will inspire more action to prevent further extinctions. Five of the eight extinctions reported in the newspaper Biological conservation involve species in South America, including four in Brazil. The Amazon, where most of these extinct species were once abundant, lost 17 million hectares of forest between 2001 and 2012. Unlike other animals, birds are more vulnerable to the loss of life. habitat because they often occupy ecological niches.

"Our results confirm that there is a growing wave of extinctions on all continents, driven mainly by habitat loss and degradation resulting from unsustainable agriculture and the Logging, "said Butchart.

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