Stu Butchart

60,000 African penguins starve to death after sardine numbers collapse – study Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds

Climate change and overfishing threaten African Penguins. BirdLife South Africa are fighting for this species’ future www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Photo montage of Tinamus resonans sp. nov., a new species of tinamou from the montane forests of the Serra do Divisor, western Amazonia, Brazil. The species is distinguished by a unique combination of plumage pattern, vocal repertoire, and ecological characteristics, including a conspicuous dark slate facial mask, vivid rufous-cinnamon underparts, and a uniform brownish-gray back. Its vocalizations are remarkable, consisting of long and powerful songs that echo strikingly across the steep montane slopes, producing a characteristic resonant effect. The species was documented exclusively at higher elevations within a transitional zone between submontane and stunted forests, where the understory is densely structured by root mats. A preliminary population estimate, based on field detections and spatial extrapolation, suggests approximately 2,106 individuals restricted to the Serra do Divisor massif. Although no immediate anthropogenic pressures were observed within its range, the species may be highly vulnerable to climate change and to proposed infrastructure projects that threaten the integrity of this federally protected region. The discovery of T. resonans highlights the biological uniqueness of the Serra do Divisor, reinforces its status as a center of montane endemism, and underscores the critical importance of maintaining its long-term conservation.

Huge News from the Western Amazon: it's the year 2025 and we are still describing entirely new, strikingly-distinctive large-bodied bird species! Behold Tinamus resonans sp. nov. the Slaty-masked Tinamou mapress.com/zt/article/v... #Ornithology @tetzoo.bsky.social 🪶

Weak recovery of insectivorous bird populations after ban of neonicotinoids in France, hinting at lasting impacts Neonicotinoids are expected to play a significant role in the decline of bird populations through their adverse effects on food resources (primarily i…

Tentative signs of recovery in insectivorous birds in France following ban of neonicotinoid pesticides in 2018 - but further actions needed to recover populations www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New paper shows mortality of migratory shorebirds along China’s coast from hunting, fishery bycatch and, at aquaculture sites, bird deterrence measures accounts for 1-10% of total flyway populations for 11 species & is unsustainable for several of these. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Slender-billed Curlew Declared Extinct IUCN confirms the loss of a once-widespread Western Palearctic wader after three decades without a verified record

Gripping video of the last 2 Slender-billed Curlews at www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/S.... I couldn't afford to join some mates who did a trip to Morocco to see them in 1992, 2 years before they disappeared. And last week, we declared the species extinct in our update to the IUCN Red List 😢

I was struck by this graph showing the spectacular growth in the UK population of Goshawks over my lifetime, which are still recovering from the impacts of persecution and pesticides that almost wiped them out. Conor James discusses this phenomenon at www.birdguides.com/articles/it-...

Anthropogenic activities influence the abandonment of Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) territories in southern Africa Abstract. Developing an effective conservation strategy for a critically endangered species relies on identifying the most pressing threats to the species.

🦅 Nearly 50% of Bearded Vulture territories in southern Africa have been abandoned. Human impacts, power lines & settlements, are key drivers, with food shortages adding pressure. Protecting them means tackling these threats head-on. doi.org/10.1650/COND... #VultureConservation #AfricanOrnithology

Today a publication celebrating the legacy of Gustavo Fonseca is launched at the GEF pavilion at IUCN World Conservation Congress

Well, it's official. After our paper last year (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), the Slender-billed Curlew is officially declared Extinct today.

Scientists dream of describing new species, not writing their obituary and epitaph, knowing that they are gone forever #ornithology

Check out the new Key Biodiversity Areas website at www.keybiodiversityareas.org. Helpful guidance on what KBAs are, how they are being used by governments & other end-users, how to get involved, unprecedented access to the full dataset etc. @keybiodiversity.bsky.social @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social

Fascinating article making a reasonable case that this neolithic rock engraving from 2000-5000 years ago in Alta, northern Norway, shows a Great Auk (now extinct) being captured. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Three decades of fantastic conservation efforts even in the most challenging of circumstances. We're always humbled by the commitment of those on the ground saving the world's birds and nature more broadly...

30 years of conservation: Celebrating our Ukrainian Partner’s legacy In 2025, our Ukrainian Partner, the Ukrainian Society for the Protection of Birds (USPB), marks its 30th anniversary.

From saving iconic species to publishing the Ukraine Breeding Bird Atlas during wartime, USPB has spent 30 years protecting Ukraine’s nature.

We’re proud to have them in the @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social Partnership and support their work for people & the planet 💛💙

www.birdlife.org/news/2025/09...

Great talk by @rspb.bsky.social CEO Becky Speight to kick off the Avian Odyssey symposium at @nhm.org on the theme of how birds provide a reason for hope. I’ll pick up on this in the global context this afternoon. @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social

This is a game changer for marine conservation. Now we need to build on the momentum and designate high seas marine protected areas to conserve Key Biodiversity Areas @keybiodiversity.bsky.social

A synthesis of terrestrial species extinctions in the Macaronesian Islands and their correspondence with human occupancy Abstract. We present the first synthesis of all known terrestrial endemic species extinctions in the biogeographical region of Macaronesia, covering all ar

More evidence of the scale of human impacts: new study documents 220 extinctions (incl. 27 birds) on Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira, Canaries, Cape Verde etc). Post-human colonisation extinction rate >12 times higher. Paper doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf215. Story: www.birdguides.com/articles/ext...

Fascinating anecdote about General Motors and sperm whale oil in this article in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...

Next month (Sat 20 Sept) I'll be talking about the State of the World's Birds at 'Avian Odyssey 2025'. Come along to the Natural History Museum, London, for a day of fascinating talks www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/... @bou.org.uk @nhm.org @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social

Millions of 'Ghost' Pheasants Go Unregistered as Shooting Estates Flout Rules New data exposes widespread non-compliance with Pheasant release registration laws - raising concerns over bird flu, biodiversity, and biosecurity

Millions of 'Ghost' Pheasants Go Unregistered as Shooting Estates Flout Rules www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/M...

‘Sex reversal’ is surprisingly common in birds, new study suggests Survey of five Australian avians finds numerous discordant individuals, including a genetically male bird that had laid an egg

Amazing: Birds may have a previously unrecognized ability to switch sexes. #ornithology

A paper describing the history of AviList and how the new unified global bird checklist was created has now been published - free to download until 1 September: rdcu.be/euZjH

Wow!!

Very cool to see Beaver in Canterbury city centre before breakfast this morning…

I'll pass this suggestion on to the team

New paper showing Key Biodiversity Areas are valuable in marine environments even for broadly distributed species. KBAs could be recognized for 3/4 threatened & 2/3 non-threatened restricted-range sharks using range maps conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @keybiodiversity.bsky.social

The status, threats and conservation of Critically Endangered species - Nature Reviews Biodiversity Species classified as Critically Endangered are at greatest risk of extinction, and their preservation and recovery are crucial to meeting global biodiversity aims. This Review assesses the geographic...

New paper reviewing the world's 10,443 Critically Endangered species: their status, distribution threats and the actions needed for their recovery
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Are there new threats, novel solutions, policy developments, or worrying/encouraging trends etc which may have significant implications for nature conservation and that are not widely known? Please share suggestions for horizon scan of emerging conservation issues. Thanks! #biodiversityfutures

Fascinating new paper shows link between penguin poo & weather: ammonia released from guano forms airborne particles that seed clouds, influencing climate processes across Antarctica. Scientific paper: www.nature.com/articles/s43... News article: www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/RealData/Art...

Home AviList is a collaborative global effort to produce a single current consensus taxonomy for the birds of the world, along with key information on taxonomy and nomenclature. The checklist is free for d...

Find out more about the background behind AviList www.avilist.org - the new unified global bird taxonomic checklist, and why it is significant at www.linkedin.com/posts/stuart...

We've just launched AviList! - the new unified global taxonomic checklist for the world's birds, developed through the Working Group on Avian Classification, including BirdLife, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, IOC and others @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social www.avilist.org