Over 500 Bird Species at Risk of Extinction This Century, Scientists Warn

More than 500 bird species could disappear within the next 100 years, according to new research which calls for urgent “special recovery programmes” including captive breeding and habitat restoration to protect unique species.

Iconic birds such as the puffin, European turtle dove, and great bustard are among those most at risk, the study warns. Their extinction could have severe consequences, potentially disrupting ecosystems worldwide.

“We face a bird extinction crisis unprecedented in modern times,” said Kerry Stewart, lead author of the research from the University of Reading, who described the headline finding of the paper as a “shocking statistic”. It is triple the number of birds that went extinct in the previous 500 years.

The paper, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, analysed data on nearly 10,000 bird species—representing almost all known bird species—and used extinction risk data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to forecast future losses. Habitat destruction, particularly due to agricultural expansion and intensification, emerged as the leading driver of bird species decline.

Alarmingly, the study found that even if all threats—such as habitat loss, hunting, and climate breakdown—were halted immediately, around 250 bird species would still face extinction, as they are already on the brink.

“Many birds are already so threatened that reducing human impacts alone won’t save them. These species need special recovery programmes, like breeding projects and habitat restoration, to survive,” said Stewart.

Despite the scale of the crisis, the researchers emphasised the importance of local conservation efforts, noting that small-scale interventions can be critical in preventing extinction.

Examples of successful conservation initiatives offer hope. In the United States, the California condor – the continent’s largest bird – was declared extinct in the wild by 1987, with only 22 individuals remaining in captivity. A dedicated breeding and reintroduction programme has since increased the population to around 350 in the wild.

In the UK, the bittern – a secretive wetland bird – became extinct as a breeding species in the 1870s due to wetland drainage for agriculture. Thanks to large-scale habitat restoration, their numbers have rebounded, with more than 280 booming males recorded last year – the highest count in more than 200 years.

The findings come alongside the latest State of the World’s Birds report, which revealed that nearly half of the world’s bird species are in decline. The primary threats identified include habitat destruction, deforestation, invasive species, overexploitation of natural resources, and the impacts of climate change.

“There is no magic bullet for solving the extinction crisis,” said Stuart Butchart, chief scientist at BirdLife International, who was not involved in the research. “Protected areas can play a key role, while abating threats from agriculture, logging, fisheries, hunting and other sources is essential. However, some species require targeted recovery efforts, involving interventions like captive breeding and release, translocation, or supplementary feeding, to overcome barriers to recovery.

“This paper adds to a growing body of evidence showing that actions across the whole framework will be necessary to stop human actions from driving species extinct.”

 

 

——————————————————————————

At Natural World Fund, we are passionate about restoring habitats in the UK to halt the decline in our wildlife.