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.

To read the full BirdLife International story and for more information, please visit:

• BirdLife
  International: BirdLife International announces more
  Critically Endangered birds than ever before
• 
  BirdLife Forums: Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum):
  uplist to Vulnerable?