The shocking decline in birds worldwide is a disaster of humanity’s making


Canada has been losing species for a long time




Birds you won’t believe are threatened with extinction

Seven birds that were once considered common and widespread are now plummeting towards extinction. Some of the species on this list will shock you. The European Turtle-dove Streptopelia turtur is so familiar in Europe that it even features in the second verse of the wildly popular Christmas carol “The 12 Days of Christmas”. Imagine if we had to change the words of the song to reflect the loss of this much-loved species…

Bird populations are being decimated worldwide


1 op 8 vogels wereldwijd met uitsterven bedreigd

Bijna 1.500 vogelsoorten of één op acht vogels wereldwijd zijn met uitsterven bedreigd. Daarnaast neemt bij 40 procent van de 11.000 vogelsoorten de populatie af. Dat blijkt uit een nieuw rapport van BirdLife, een internationale koepel van natuurorganisaties. “De gezondheid van de vogelpopulaties is een goede maatstaf voor de staat van de ecosystemen”, zo klinkt het. BirdLife maakt jaarlijks de balans op van het wereldwijde vogelbestand.

Agricultural intensification threatens 74% of the 1,469 bird species globally at risk of extinction

One in eight bird species is threatened with global extinction, and once widespread creatures such as the puffin, snowy owl and turtle dove are plummeting towards oblivion, according to the definitive study of global bird populations. The State of the World’s Birds, a five-year compendium of population data from the best-studied group of animals on the planet, reveals a biodiversity crisis driven by the expansion and intensification of agriculture. In all, 74% of 1,469 globally threatened birds are affected primarily by farming.



