BirdLife International announces more Critically Endangered birds than ever before - the AEWA-listed Grey Crowned-crane uplisted to Vulnerable
Cambridge,
14 May 2009 - The annual update of the IUCN Red List
for birds by BirdLife International revealed that more
bird species than ever are threatened with extinction.
This year’s Critically Endangered category - the
highest threat category - lists two further species, amounting
to 192 species in all. In total, 1,227 species (12%) of
all bird species are now classified as Globally Threatened,
including an increasing number of previously common birds.
Among the IUCN Red-listed birds are many AEWA species. In the 2009 update, one of them - the Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) - was uplisted from Least Concern to Vulnerable, which represents a significant deterioration of its status. The population has undergone an overall dramatic decline of 67-79% since 1969. Reasons for the decline can be attributed primarily to habitat loss and fragmentation as well as illegal removal of individuals and eggs from the wild for food, traditional use, domestication and international illegal trade. Grey Crowned-cranes often move from wetlands into agricultural lands to forage, exposing them to the additional threats of poisoning as well as collisions and electrocutions with overhead power-lines.
This negative change lowers the Red List index of species survival for the AEWA-listed birds. No positive change of status of AEWA species was announced in 2009.
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