Sometimes the daily habits of a certain bird species may be so obscure that ornithologists are not even sure how many of them exist. That certainly seems to be the case with the Slender-billed Curlew as it seems there is some doubt as to whether or not this bird is still surviving or has become completely extinct.

The last time there was a confirmed sighting of one of these birds, it was in Morocco in 1999. That may not seem so bad, but when you consider that these birds were quite common in the 19th century, you start to understand why only one occasional sighting raises concerns. In fact, between 1980 and 1990 it was estimated that there were only about 100 of these birds left and experts now guess that that number may be less than half – or the birds may have died out completely. However, ornithologists at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Birdlife International refuse to give up hope. They are asking bird-watchers to join in a massive operation to try and establish how many of these birds may still exist in the wild. Their hope is that if any of the birds are found still breeding, their natural habitat can be protected and the birds might stand a chance of recovering somewhat.

The speedy disappearance of the bird, however, might not be entirely due to diminishing habitat. It seems that the bird is also a target for predators and hunters, since it is plump and is not easily encouraged to flee from possible danger. Little wonder then with those characteristics – and its possible extinction – that it has been called the ‘European dodo’.

With possibly less than 50 birds remaining in the wild, one may be inclined to think that hopes of reviving wild bird populations, or the species as a whole, are hopeless. But according to Nicola Crockford at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, this is not necessarily the case. She said: “Although the situation for the slender-billed curlew does look gloomy, that other species have risen from the ‘dead’ recently does fuel our optimism.” Hopefully these efforts will prove successful and, not only will the birds be found to be still existing and breeding in the wild, but they will be successfully protected and slowly start to grow in numbers.

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With the last verified sighting of a Beck’s Petrel being almost 80 years ago, conservationists were of the opinion that this particular bird species (Pseudobulweria becki) had become extinct. However, to the delight of ornithological conservationists, the British Ornithologists’ Club recently published photographic confirmation of Beck’s Petrel sightings.

The Beck’s Petrel was first described by ornithologist, museum collector and explorer, Rollo Beck. In 1928 Beck discovered a female petrel east of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, and in 1929 a male was found north-east of Rendova, Solomon Islands. The small tube-nosed Beck’s Petrel is dark brown with a white wing-bar, belly and breast. It flies over the ocean with straight wings with tips slightly bent back, and feeds on food items picked from the ocean surface. The Beck’s Petrel is quite similar to the Tahiti Petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) and, based on this, previously reported sightings of the Beck’s Petrel have been dismissed due to lack of proper evidence.

The re-discovery of Beck’s Petrel is a result of the efforts of Israeli ornithologist, Hadoram Shirihai. In 2003, during a visit to the Bismarck Archipelago, a province of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean, Shirihai made some tentative sightings of the Beck’s Petrel, but could not confirm these sightings at the time. In July and August 2007 he returned to the area with the hope of confirming the existence of these elusive seabirds, and during the two-week expedition Shirihai observed and photographed an estimated 30 Beck’s Petrels. In addition to photographic evidence, a bird that had recently died was found out at sea, confirming without a doubt that Beck’s Petrels still exist.

Although breeding grounds have not yet been discovered, sightings included juvenile birds, suggesting that Beck’s Petrels are breeding in the area. There are numerous islands and atolls where they could breed and it is believed that the Beck’s Petrel may only visit their breeding grounds at night. These are factors which make the detection of breeding grounds even more difficult.

The ultimate goal of ornithological conservationists would be to assist the Beck’s Petrel to breed to the extent of being removed from the endangered list. They now face the task of investigating ways to protect these seabirds from predatory cats and rats, as well as the widespread logging activity in the islands. Re-discovery of the Beck’s Petrel is sure to add impetus to conservation efforts in the area.

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The dodo did not need the ability to fly, because Mauritius had no predators. Unfortunately, human settlers brought rats, cats, pigs and monkeys to the island. Dodos could not escape these new creatures, and were also hunted by man. Within 40 to 50 years of the island’s discovery, the dodo was no more.

The dodo was barely remembered for the next several centuries. But in the 1860’s, the dodo appeared in Lewis Carroll’s famous book “Alice in Wonderland.” Also at that time, scientists found well-preserved dodo bones. Both events sparked a flurry of popular and scientific interest in dodos.

Perhaps the dodo also gained fame from the swiftness of its extinction. In today’s world of environmental concerns, it stands as a symbol of how easily humans can negatively affect wildlife. Many bird species today are threatened with extinction- hopefully no more species will suffer the dodo’s sudden fate.

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