In a tragic first, the extinction of a mainland European bird species has happened.
Unfortunately now believed to be dead like a dodo, the Slender-billed Curlew was also found in North Africa and West Asia.
A migratory shorebird, it used to breed in the brief Siberian summer before spending its winters basking in Mediterranean sun.
While 164 avian species are recognised to have become extinct by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the curlew’s demise is troubling given its wide range, across three continents.
Also, Mediterranean birds have generally fared better than birds in other locations, which could be down to the birds having more time to adjust to human civilisation.
(Image: PA)
The last reliable sighting of the curlew was in 1995 in Morocco, which was once home to many. An unconfirmed sighting occurred in 2001, reports IFL Science.
A statement from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) read: “This marks the first known extinction of a bird species from mainland Europe, North Africa and West Asia.
“Extensive efforts have been made for decades to find evidence of the Slender-billed Curlew across its breeding and non-breeding ranges, but all have proven unsuccessful.”
Two bird species have become extinct on islands off Europe and Africa, the RSPB acknowledged.
Some species believed to be extinct can reappear, sometimes in unexpected and far flung places, not known to be part of their range. Therefore, the authors of the RSPB paper arguing the bird had vanished, concluded there was a 96% change it was extinct, which probably happened shortly after the lasts sighting.
Senior author Dr Alex Bond of the Natural History Museum said expeditions were launched to find the bird’s breeding grounds, once sightings in Morocco stopped.
In a statement Dr Bond said: “As climate change continues, this is going to be the status quo. Things are not getting better for birds. Tackling climate change, habitat destruction and pollution is the best chance we’ve got at protecting them, at home and abroad.”
The species is still currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. The organisation will now consider the report to declare the bird’s offical extinction. Efforts to save the Slender-billed Curlew started in 1988.
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