Slender-billed Curlew Declared Extinct After Decades-Long Search

According to the latest update from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the slender-billed curlew, a migratory shorebird last recorded in Morocco in 1995, has been declared extinct. This news comes from a paper published in the journal Ibis in November 2024, which confirmed the species is likely no longer in existence.

The IUCN Red List assessment, conducted by BirdLife International, evaluated 1,360 bird species. The results are alarming, with nearly 1,256 (11.5%) of the 11,185 species assessed now globally threatened. Even more concerning is the finding that 61% of bird species have declining populations, a significant increase from 44% in 2016.

Nicola Crockford, chair of the Slender-billed Curlew Working Group, expressed regret that the group's efforts to prove the bird's continued existence were too late, as it was likely already functionally extinct by the time of the last confirmed sighting in 1995. The IUCN also declared six other species, including the Diospyros angulata, a species in the same genus as ebony trees, as extinct.

The primary threat to birds globally is habitat loss and degradation, driven by agricultural expansion, intensification, and logging. This crisis is particularly acute in regions like Madagascar, West Africa, and Central America, where tropical forest loss poses a growing threat to endemic bird species.

Despite these sobering findings, the IUCN report also highlights a success story – the recovery of the Rodrigues warbler on Rodrigues Island, which has been downlisted from Critically Endangered in 1996 to Least Concern today, demonstrating the potential for conservation efforts to make a difference.