New assessment of bird species of European conservation concern underlines urgent need for restoration
A new paper in BCI reveals that 38% of Europe’s 546 bird species are of conservation concern, including 14% of global concern.…

A new paper in BCI reveals that 38% of Europe’s 546 bird species are of conservation concern, including 14% of global concern.…

2023 is set to be another landmark year for the journal, as a new contract between BirdLife International and Cambridge University Press coincides with a move to continuous, online-only publication, benefitting not only authors but also the range of conservation practitioners and decision-makers reliant on their important research.
Tropical forests harbour a very high proportion of the planet’s terrestrial biodiversity, supporting wildlife communities that are more diverse and more species-rich than any other habitat.

Bustards are deeply challenging birds to conserve. Their grassland habitats are in irresistible demand for food production—both agriculture and livestock—throughout their ranges in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Over 50 million waterbirds of more than 200 species migrate along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) each year. However, many of their populations have declined severely in recent decades.

Through their travels, migratory birds link countries and continents. Many populations of migratory birds are in decline and more than 200 species are currently globally threatened.…

Vultures are keystone species that perform a vital ecosystem service by disposing of carrion. Veterinary use of the painkilling drug diclofenac to treat livestock has caused the collapse of vulture populations throughout South Asia, with dramatic ecological and socio-economic consequences.
Direct exploitation of organisms has been recognised as the second biggest driver of global extinction risk, and over a third of all bird species may be affected by international trade. Trade in living or dead birds taken from the wild is a multi-billion dollar industry that represents a major direct threat to the survival of many species and is a source of invasive species and zoonotic diseases. However, it has also been argued that trade may be sustainable in some areas, making important contributions to livelihoods and the viability of natural areas.

For more than 40 years, the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) programme of BirdLife International has aimed to identify, document, safeguard, manage and monitor a network of sites of international significance for birds. The global list now extends to more than 13,500 IBAs, and is among the most extensive site-based, spatially explicit, systematically rigorous biodiversity datasets yet compiled.

To celebrate World Albatross Day on 19 June 2022, this month’s third centenary collection of BCI papers focuses on the theme of seabirds and bycatch.…

Evidence of hunting, harvesting and persecution of wild birds dates back to the earliest of human societies. However, as human populations have grown, and technologies have advanced, the exploitation of wild birds has increased dramatically.…

Our ever-spreading infrastructure of housing, industry, water, energy and transport networks is destroying and degrading natural habitats. Artificial structures of various kinds, from fences to cell-phone masts, and electricity power lines to wind farms, pose a direct threat to many birds.…

The BCI Centenary Collections 2022 marks 100 years since the founding of the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP) – now BirdLife International, the largest international partnership for nature conservation.…