Farmers Could Save Endangered Ibis

The elegant white-shouldered Ibis is a critically endangered wading bird that is found in the southern regions of Laos, Vietnam, the eastern region of Kalimantan and in the northern areas of Cambodia. Its natural habitat includes wet grasslands, sand and gravel bars at the water’s edge, marshes and forests that do not consist of dense vegetation. The coloring is quite distinctive with dark plumage covering the bird’s body, red legs and a bald black head. Its name is derived from a unique feature which can be found on the inner forewing of the white-shouldered Ibis, a light, almost white, colored patch of plumage.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is known the world over for its gregarious, lively behavior. A master of adaptation and great opportunist, this remarkable little bird has gone on to colonize countries the world over. Despite its longstanding relationship with urban man, House Sparrows have sadly been declining in numbers even being added to the [...]

The Fascinating Flightless Cassowary

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is a large flightless bird found in the Seram Islands of Indonesia and the tropical rainforests of Aru, as well as New Guinea and northeastern Australia. Cassowaries have a reputation for being bad tempered and dangerous, a reputation that has been reinforced by the 2004 edition of the Guinness World Records, which lists the Cassowary as the most dangerous bird in the world.

One in Eight Birds in Danger of Extinction

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), one in eight bird species is currently facing extinction. The most recent update of the Red List of threatened bird species listed 190 bird species as ‘critically endangered’. Eight of the birds on this list were added this year and a further sixteen species have been given a higher threat status. In sharp contrast, only two species were found to have improved prospects of survival. Clearly things are spiraling out of control.

The Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis

The striking northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremite), with is long red bill and oblong-shaped black body, is not a bird that would usually attract too much attention because many people would not think of it as the most attractive bird. However, it is currently very much under the spotlight as it is a critically endangered bird that may be facing extinction if more effort is not put into preserving this species.

Black Grouse Saved from Extinction

The Black Grouse appears on the IUCN Red List of endangered species and was considered to be one of the bird species most likely to become extinct. However, through the dedicated efforts of conservation groups over the past two decades, the dramatic decline of this rare bird has not only been halted, but turned around, and Black Grouse numbers in the northern Pennines are slowly rising.