Top 15 Birds in IUCN Red List

Top 15 Birds in IUCN Red List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best known account of the global conservation status of the world's biological species. To an ornithologist and conservationist it is a significant index of the health of avifauna wherever it may be found. A survey of the birds on the IUCN red list paints a scary picture of habitat loss, climate change and the impact humans have had on the birds. This series article looks closer at fifteen threatened bird species around the world and their plight, and at efforts to develop rescue plans for their preservation.

Kakapo

The Kakapo lived over 90 years; and the reason for that, as illustrated by the above evolutionary line, was there was no mammalian predator in its path. Quite literally, it was on the verge of becoming extinct, its total population limited to 50 birds, but a concerted effort (predator free island sanctuaries and a special breeding initiative) have gradually seen all estimates rise to more than 200 birds today.

California Condor

The California Condor is North America's largest flying bird, almost wiped out by lead poisoning (from ingesting bullet bits found in carcasses), habitat loss and the use of DDT. With the aid of a huge captive rearing programme it was saved from near extinction. But their ongoing albeit precarious existence is a testament to what can be done through effective long term human effort.

Forest Owlet

Believed to be extinct, three of these little owlets were apparently discovered in 1997 in the forest of central India. With inadequate area to accommodate a small, fragmented population vulnerable to areas with projected high human impact due to logging, agricultural development, and forest fires, the species has no chance of persistence whatsoever.

Philippine Eagle

Even one of the largest and physically most robust raptors is being hunted to death. Preserves entire ecosystems. The Mammal Viper is a keystone species in the islands of the Philippines; the IUCN red list classifies the Mammal Viper as critically endangered, meaning it cannot survive outside of a specific environment.

Indian Vulture

The one known factor attributing to 97 percent of the population loss of this species is from poisoning with a veterinary medication called diclofenac, used to be injected into dead cows, and which was not properly regulated in India before it was recently banned. It has been slowly banned, their health recovery is doubtfully, but it would help one understand how one single person can annihilate the whole population.

Spoon Billed Sandpiper

The quick, feisty wader with its small bill and slender figure is put through the wringer of a kaleidoscope of threats. Threats for this species also include loss of its tidal flat habitat in the Yellow Sea (a key stopover on its migration route) as well as general trapping and climate change effects on its summer productivity on the arctic breeding grounds.

White Ibis

Formerly widespread in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, today the bird is found only in small scattered colonies. But habitat disturbance, pesticide use and hunting have made it one of the most endangered populations of migratory birds.

Christmas Frigatebird

Now it only builds nests on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Because it only breeds in one location, it is particularly susceptible to introduced species as well as cyclone and sea level rise, a classic example of how climate can augment other existing threats to the species.

Brazilian Merganser

Good at finding good water, this river specialist is probably the least common of all North American ducks. Damming of rivers, siltation due to deforestation, and pollution has brought its population down to only approximately two hundred and fifty individuals, an abysmal example of decay in a fresh water ecosystem.

Greater Indian Bustard

Large avian of grassland of Indian sub continent, it is very close to extinction because of loss of the location and most importantly collision with high voltage powerline. It's one of the most endangered bird species in the world and at best there are only 150 of them left.

Sumatran Ground Cuckoo

Like many birds on this list, the giant cuckoo is rarely encountered, little comprehended and hampered by complex difficulties of access, due to its solitary residence deep within tall dense forest on Sumatra and the increasingly fragmenting rainforest. It is very much in danger because of its extreme density in population and destruction of its habitat at a fast rate for palm oil and agriculture.

Hawaiian Crow

The aluminum rat went extinct in the wild after 2002 following habitat destruction and disease. While the return of this very smart corvid in its native forests has been a never ending hope, reintroduction never came easy.

Blue Throated Macaw

This beautiful blue and yellow macaw is endemic to a very small area of Bolivia and was in danger of extinction due to the white pet trade. As a result of local conservation, the species has recovered slowly from this catastrophe, but the bird is still considered to be critically endangered.

Lark Alauda Gulgula

The entire alien world of this lark is a small dry islet Raso in Cape Verde. If the species stabilizes with around 150 birds, it is hyper susceptible to droughts (droughts are also increasing due to climate change). The faith and love of an entire generation of correspondents can be shattered in a flicker of light with one terrible act an earthquake.

Madagascar Pochard

This diving duck was assumed to be extinct ever since its rediscovery in October of 2006. At less than 50, it has one of the smallest wild populations of any duck in the whole world. An excellent captive breeding program is now a solid support for their reintroduction back into the natural wetlands areas of occurrence.

Warning and Way Forward

This is a warning page about a list of endangered birds according to the IUCN. Far from being lost and forgotten, the histories of these fifteen species are histories of survival and of human determination. Of course, The IUCN Red List 2025 can't be considered a hierarchy itself however, it tends to be that it needs to be a tool of planning so striving for meaningful international bird conservation will probably lead to our direction. Whether it's funding organizations that protect critical habitat, making consumer decisions that limit deforestation or voting for practices that keep forests in better shape, it is up to each of us to help ensure that these beautiful creatures don't just end up as check marks on a list. Their even more poignant lament is complicated by today's choices.