The newest European Red List of Birds was released yesterday (14/10/2021). The main findings are that: - 1 in 5 bird species in Europe is threatened or Near Threatened by extinction - 1 in 3 bird species in Europe has declined over the past few decades A press release about the new Red List is included here: New BirdLife report: 1 in 5 bird species in Europe is threatened by extinction From the report itself, these are some of the birds with significant changes in their Red List status: - Common kingfisher (moved from Vulnerable to Least Concern): while they are still declining, it is now thought that the rate of decline is not high enough to meet a higher category than Least Concern. - Greater spotted eagle (moved from Endangered to Vulnerable): The downlisting is not because of genuine population change but because new information has come about which shortened the species' generation length. - Black-tailed godwit (moved from Vulnerable to Near Threatened): Although it is undergoing rapid declines across much of its range, there seems to be a genuine increase in Iceland, likely due to increasing spring temperatures. - Eurasian curlew (moved from Vulnerable to Near Threatened): This species is still declining but in Finland (which holds 37% of the European population), the population seems to be doing well. - Common snipe (moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable): The overall European population has declined by 36%; this is almost certainly due to declines in the extent and quality of wet grasslands that these birds depend upon when breeding. - Common redshank (moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable): The three countries that collectively hold 50% of the breeding population (Russia, Belarus and Iceland) have seen declines of over 30%; as with the snipe, these are probably due to loss of wet grassland. - Northern pintail (moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable): Over three generations, the population has declined by 38%, mostly due to habitat loss and modification. - Common eider (moved from Vulnerable to Endangered): By 2033 it is expected that this bird will have declined in Europe by 50%; rapid declines in the Baltic-Wadden Sea region are due to diseases, food shortage and natural predation. - Rook (moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable): Overall, the population is declining by about 30% across Europe, due to persecution and destruction of nest sites. - Common quail (moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened): The species population in Europe is declining by 35%, with loss of rough grassland and hunting the main causes. - Red-necked grebe (moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable): The overall European population has declined by at least 38%; the cause of this decline is unknown. - Black-necked grebe (moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable): An overall decline of 35% was recorded from Russia and Ukraine, that hold 70% of Europe's breeding population; little is known about the causes but may include pollution, climate change, flood prevention architecture, disturbance and bycatch. As for regionally extinct European birds, there are five species - Pallas's sandgrouse, Northern bald ibis, African darter, common buttonquail and pine bunting (this species was listed as Vulnerable in the last assessment in 2015); two species previously categorised as regionally extinct have been downlisted - the Caspian plover is Endangered and the desert warbler is Vulnerable. The full report is included here: https://www.birdlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BirdLife-European-Red-List-of-Birds-2021.pdf
