The dramatic rediscovery of the Antioquia Brush-finch – a species unseen for almost half a century – hit the headlines this past April. However, such incredible returns, although rare, are not unheard of. We explore some of the most miraculous examples of recent times, and what they teach us about the danger of presuming a species is extinct.
You have probably heard the devastating news about the fires currently destroying the Amazon rainforest – the result of forest protection laws being rapidly dismantled. BirdLife has joined 48 other NGOs demanding immediate and lasting action from the governments of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.
The marmoset was discovered in the south-west of Pará State in Brazil, Amazon’s ‘arc of deforestation’. The researcher who lead the study warns that we already need to be concerned about its survival.
If you think millennials are too busy looking at their phones to care about conservation, you haven’t met these young people. Every year, we grant funding and support to young people whose new, fresh ideas are changing the way we protect the planet. Here are this year’s winners.
The Alliance for Zero Extinction has mapped 1,483 highly threatened species that are found only at a single site. But this major new assessment highlights the urgent need for better protection of these irreplaceable places.
For more than a decade, the Albatross Task Force has been striving to make fishing industries seabird-safe. Working with communities, governments and on board boats, it has become one of BirdLife’s most successful programmes. Here’s what it has achieved in the past year alone.
Eight bird species, including two species of macaw, look set to have their extinctions confirmed following a robust new assessment of Critically Endangered species. The findings reveal a worrying new trend: for the first time, mainland extinctions are outpacing island extinctions
Farming doesn’t have to be in conflict with nature. Around the world, we’re working with projects that prove it’s possible to grow food in a way that benefits both wildlife and livelihoods. Here's a tasty selection for starters...
Just three years ago, the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove was thought to be extinct. Then, after 75 years without a confirmed sighting, twelve individuals were found in the wild. But with such a small population, can the species be saved?
Parrots are such popular pets that their capture has driven many species to the brink of extinction in the wild. But this isn't a new phenomenon - their role in human culture has been ingrained for millennia. We explore what parrots in art can tell us about the history of world trade routes.
For a while, it looked like they might actually be in recovery. But this year’s census of the American subspecies, the rufa Red Knot, found that numbers have plummeted to an all-time low. The likely cause? Food shortages in Delaware Bay, a crucial feeding stopover site on their migration.
We interview Katharine Lowrie: part of a record-breaking couple who sailed the Atlantic to begin an ultra-marathon through South America, all to raise money and awareness for wildlife and wild places.
Conservation is working: 25 bird species have been saved from the Critically Endangered category this century alone. Read five of the most inspiring stories of birds that have recovered thanks to the dedication of conservationists and communities.
Keen-eyed readers will note that we ‘lost’ a species in the 2017 Red List update – the Liberian Greenbul is no longer recognised as a valid species by BirdLife. But mourn not its loss: this is simply the latest in a long line of taxonomic avian mysteries to have been solved...
Every year, an estimated 400,000 seabirds worldwide are killed after getting unintentionally snared in gillnets while diving for food. A new review highlights that even penguins – the master swimmers of the avian world – aren’t safe from their clutches, and pinpoints where the threat is most acute.
