Nearly half of migratory bird species are in decline, new report finds
A new global report finds nearly half of migratory bird species are declining and one in nine faces extinction, though coordinated conservation has reversed some losses.
BirdLife International's latest State of the World's Birds report finds that 45% of migratory bird species are declining, with one in nine now at risk of extinction — seabirds and shorebirds facing the most acute threats. Agricultural expansion, invasive species, climate change and hunting are named as the main pressures driving the losses.
The report also points to a major protection gap: only about 9% of migratory species receive adequate safeguards across their entire migration routes, compared with 45% of non-migratory birds, and more than half of the key habitat areas migratory birds depend on are rated in poor condition.
Still, the report highlights cases where coordinated action has worked. The Egyptian vulture population in the Balkans has rebounded from near-extinction within a decade through international cooperation, and governments and conservation groups signed the Nairobi Flyways Declaration alongside the report's launch, committing to protect key migration routes, with development banks pledging billions toward habitat restoration.
Based on reporting by Sean Mowbray for Mongabay. Read the original: https://news.mongabay.com/2026/09/migratory-bird-species-increasingly-at-risk-report-finds-but-there-is-still-hope/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
