Citizen scientists asked to help find birds lost to science
The Santa Marta sabrewing is among the species that has been rediscovered after the original list was produced.
Birdwatchers and citizen scientists around the world are being asked to help find 126 bird species that are considered lost to science.
Some of the species have not been recorded for just over ten years. Others, such as the Jamaican pauraque, coppery thorntail, and New Caledonian lorikeet, have not been seen for more than 150 years.
The quest to find the 126 species is being led by the Search for Lost Birds project, a collaboration between American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Re:wild and BirdLife International.
To qualify for a place on its list of lost birds, a species must not have been recorded for more than 10 years. Birds that are assessed as being extinct are not included in the project.
It is believed some of the birds are lost because their habitats are in remote areas that are rarely visited by researchers and birdwatchers. Most of the species live in the tropics, often in places like small islands and mountainous regions. Oceania has the highest number of lost birds, followed by Africa and Asia.
Sixty-two per cent of the birds are threatened with extinction, and some of the species may have become extinct. Anyone who takes a photo, video, or sound recording of one of the birds on the list can contact the project and the list will be updated.
The list of missing birds is based on a study published this week in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The researchers analysed over 42 million photos, videos and audio recordings collected by citizen science platforms, as well as information from other sources including museum collections, local experts, and research papers.
The study identified 144 birds that had not been recorded in the previous ten years. However, in the two years since the analysis was carried out, 14 of the species have been recorded, two species were subject to taxonomic clarification, and two have populations in human care. This has brought the total to 126.
John C. Mittermeier, the director of the Search for Lost Birds at ABC, said: “While some of the species on the list will be incredibly challenging or maybe even impossible to find, others might reveal themselves relatively quickly if people get to the right places.
“Regardless of the situation, working closely with local people and citizen scientists is the best way to find lost birds and begin conservation efforts to ensure that these species don't become lost again.”
The full list of species is available on the Search for Lost Birds website.
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