International Report: 45% of Migratory Bird Species Facing Population Decline

International Report: 45% of Migratory Bird Species Facing Population Decline
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A new global report has warned that 45 percent of migratory bird species worldwide are experiencing population declines, with nearly one in nine species now facing the risk of extinction due to growing environmental pressures.

The findings, presented at the Global Migration Routes Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, highlighted declines among species including cuckoos, common terns, and Arctic terns, driven by habitat loss and increasing human impacts.

The report noted that seven migratory bird species have been confirmed or are suspected to have gone extinct over the past 150 years, including the slender-billed curlew, which was officially declared extinct last year in the first recorded global extinction of a bird species in Eurasia and Africa in centuries.

Researchers identified major threats to migratory birds, including intensive agriculture, unsustainable hunting, pollution, invasive species, and climate change, which is altering habitats and ecosystems.

Published every four years by BirdLife International, the analysis found that seabirds and shorebirds dependent on marine environments and coastal wetlands are among the groups most affected.

Governments, scientists, conservation organizations, and financial institutions pledged at the Nairobi summit to strengthen efforts to protect migratory birds and their global migration routes, which are used by billions of birds during seasonal journeys across continents.