Nearly half of the world’s bird species are declining, with at least one in eight species threatened by extinction, a new study found.
BirdLife, a 100-year-old conservation organization, released their fifth edition of the State of the World’s Birds report with some alarming findings.
“This wealth of information paints a deeply concerning picture,” the report noted.
The majority of bird populations are in decline and already have very depleted populations.
The study found that 49% of the world’s bird species are now in decline, with only 6% having increased their populations since the last report in 2018.
Over 160 bird species have been lost in the last 500 years and “species are moving ever faster towards extinction.” In North America, the bird population has lost 2.9 billion individuals since 1970.