This newly described species is listed as Critically Endangered because there are no known populations and the last record is from 1971; consequently if it does remain extant it is assumed that any population must be tiny. The species was collected on the Llano de Ovejas, a small plateau at 2,400-2,800 m. This species has […]
Java Blue-banded Kingfisher (Alcedo Euryzona) is a “new” species split of from nominate status to full species status in 2013. This Java endemic kingfisher is firmly bound to rivers in lowland forest which is lost in an alarming rate throughout its range. There is only one sighting known, in 2009, since the thirties, the population […]
This species is classified as Critically Endangered as it is now absent or occurs in extremely reduced numbers over the majority of its former breeding and wintering grounds and is common nowhere. It is thought that hunting and wetland destruction are the key reasons for its decline. Identification Phillips, 1922 Adult Male : Head and […]
Hutton in 1871 describes it as follows: Head, neck and lower parts, dull black ; back and wings, greenish black; tail, black ; forehead, cheeks and throat, grey. The young have the whole under surface, and over the tail, white ; the inner webs of the lateral tail feathers white, with black tips. It is […]
Eyton in 1838 described it as follows:Merganser, with the head and neck glossy green; the occiput with a long pendent crest the same; the whole of the back, tail, and wings sooty black; wing spot white, divided by a black streak; under surface and the lower part of the neck brown, the latter, with the […]
This species was not uncommon in the end of the 19th century and first half of the twentieth century. In 1960 it had already completely vanished, with some vague records during the following decades. Several major surveys have been conveyed but without any success. Then, in 1991, a single drake was captured alive. In 2006 […]
This species went undetected from 1938 to 2003, but was then rediscovered in gallery forest in Emas National Park, Brasil. It has since then been found at several sites along the Alto Rio Juruena, where it was originally discovered, and at Itiquira. The species habits and preference are hardly known, it probably has a very […]
The Red-headed Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) or Indian Black Vulture or King Vulture or Pondichery Vulture has shown an extremely rapid decline in numbers in the last decade. This reduction in population is probably ongoing in the near future. The main reason for this steep decline is the veterinary drug diclofenac which is widely used in […]
The Christmas Island frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi) has a small declining population which breeds within on just one small island. Allrhough the birds leave the breeding grounds and disperse over a large part of the Indian Ocean, it is not known to breed anywhere else. The Christmas Island Frigatebird is the rarest of the five species […]
The White-shouldered Ibis population is very rapidly diminishing. The reasons are not fully understood but certainly habitat loss, hunting and disturbance are on-going threats. If effective protection measures could be in place in north-eastern Cambodia and along the Mekong channel, the species largest population may be saved. It is now estimated at a 650 mature […]
This species population is very small and declining because of a degrade of suitable nesting ground. The population has shown some signs of recovery and is now above 250 mature individuals. St. Helena, then uninhabited, was discovered in 1502 and the introduction of goats in 1513 heralded the speedy destruction of the forests, which were […]