Rare Birds

---

North America has More Than a quarter of the Birds lost since 1970

bird populations in Asia and the United States "in crisis", according to two large studies.

- a loss of 29% of North American Birds .

: on The Island of Java, in Indonesia, more Birds can live in cages than in The Wild

The Scientists hope the results will serve as a wake-up call.

The two studies published in the journals Science and Biological Conservation.

The caged bird could be, in the value of tens of millions of dollars to the Indonesian economy, As three billion Birds have disappeared? Birds are in decline, in every kind of Habitat , from grassland to deserts

The North America study reveals how Many Birds were lost to desert each type of Habitat - meadows, and coasts. Although not directly assessing what these scientists are driving to the conclusion That among the several causes, was a major factor of Habitat loss driven by human activity.

in This study, said lead researcher Dr. Ken Rosenberg from the Cornell lab of Ornithology and The American Bird Conservancy, was The First to "run the numbers" on bird populations.

"We knew That some Species were in decline," he told Bbc News , "but we thought, to disappear, and while the Rare Birds were, the more generalist Birds and those That would be better suited to the human landscape - the filling of gaps. "

The Team , The calculations were based on the merging of the bird monitoring in North America for the last 50 Years - every major survey carried out on The Continent since 1970.

"What we saw was this said by urgent net-loss," says Dr. Rosenberg. "And we were quite scared That the more common Birds , the everyday Backyard Birds and generalist Species , suffer some of the largest losses. "

The same pattern, he added, probably, in other parts of The World . And The Situation in Asia, as the study has shown, is a particularly striking case of a human-driven extinction crisis.

What is the songbird Trade is? Bird-singing competitions are very popular in Indonesia

The purchase and sale of songbirds, Many of which are caught from The Wild are - is big business in parts of Asia, particularly on The Island of Java in Indonesia.

Back in the year of 2017, That we have studied.

some 75 million Birds are kept as Pets in Java. Many are sought-after competitions for bird-sings - often referred to as the "Kicau mania". At these events, bearing in Birds locked songs are judged on melody, duration, and volume. Top prizes for The Best singer, owner can earn as much as £40,000 in the biggest competitions.

This culture, to satisfy, however, The Capture of Birds from The Wild demand. And, the researchers say, is a threat to the survival of Many Species .

Harry Marshall , the lead researcher on this study, explains: "The Trade is expected to be worth tens of millions of dollars to the Indonesian economy, so it is no surprise That it is an important regional source of supply and demand for songbirds, with hundreds of markets across the archipelago, the sale of More Than 200 different types. "

Lovebirds are very popular in the Asian songbird Trade

Mr Marshall, who is a PhD-student at the Manchester Metropolitan University and the Chester Zoo , conducted a survey of 3,000 households in Java, Indonesia's most populated island. He and his colleagues were able to estimate That there are as Many as 75 million Birds , the life in Javanese households.

There are now more singing Birds in cages on The Island than there are now, living in the wilderness.

What can be done to reverse these declines? Conservationists hope That these results are a Wake-up call for those who want to protect the Birds

Both teams of scientists were keen to highlight the optimism under the Hand of "doom and gloom" in this new information.

Prof Stuart Marsden , Manchester Metropolitan University - an authority on the Asian songbird Trade , pointed out That The National obsession was driven with the attitude of Birds in Indonesia is through the love of the Birds .

"I think That passion can be used in conservation," he said.

Dr. Rosenberg pointed to a striking example of the bird conservation success as the reason for, what he called his "oddly optimistic" view of the dramatic decline in the North American bird world.

"In the United States and Canada, it was the duck hunters noticed a decline in water Birds and did some thing about it. Millions of dollars were in wetlands, and Restoration - in terms of healthy population for the duck hunter.

"This is a Model That - if we can replicate, it can not be hunted for the Birds and the Birds , love the people, the spaces in The Other life, we know That the bird populations can be persistent and come back. "

environment, indonesia, united states, conservation, birds

Source of news: bbc.com