Scientists are busy searching for more than 120 species of birds that may or may not be extinct, and they need your help to find them.
The ubiquity of smartphones has led to an increase in data for birders and researchers alike, in the form of apps that allow novice birders to capture and catalog what they see. The amount of data available is so great that a group of ornithologists decided to analyze it to see which species have never appeared.
The researchers, from the American Bird Conservancy and their British counterpart, compiled more than 42 million photos, audio recordings and videos of birds that were uploaded to citizen scientist apps. In a study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environmentthey revealed that there are 144 species of birds that have not been seen in more than 10 years. The analysis was completed two years ago and, in the meantime, a number of species were observed in the wild or in human care, or their taxonomy was reclassified. In total, 126 types of research are still missing.
That doesn’t mean the birds are gone. In fact, researchers say that only 62% of invisible birds are endangered. Instead, these species are classified as “lost.” A 2022 paper noted that there is no legal definition of missing species but defined them as those that “simply dropped off the scientific radar” by not being seen in the wild and may be kept in nature reserves or other artificial habitats, for a decade or more. . Although they are generally endangered and very rare, lost species have a tendency to reappear.
“Birds are the most well-documented group of animals on Earth, and it’s a testament to how much people love them that only about one percent of the world’s birds have escaped documentation over the past decade,” said Cameron Rutt, who served. as the Lost Bird Science Coordinator with the ABC and worked on the paper, in a statement. However, within that percentage, there are many highly endangered species that have not been documented in decades. Finding these birds is important to avoid extinction.”
This research just reinforces something ABC has known for a long time. In 2021, the organization challenged bird watchers to help find 10 of the world’s rarest species, which could be classified as extinct. The following year, one of those birds, the Santa Marta sabrewing, was spotted in northern Colombia, the New York Times reported.
John C. Mittermeier, director of Search for Lost Birds at ABC, said that, along with helping to identify lost species, citizen scientists can be the key to finding them again.
“Finding out why these birds have gone missing and trying to find them can sound like a detective story,” he said. “While some of the species on the list will be incredibly challenging or even impossible to find, others can show up 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 start conservation efforts to ensure that these species are never lost again.”
The occurrence of extinct species is not limited to birds. As of 2017, Global Wildlife Conservation has maintained a list of 2,200 endangered species around the world. Since its discovery, only 13 such species have been discovered.
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