News
In Nigeria and across Africa, vultures are being killed so that their body parts can be used for various belief-based practices, including traditional medicine. This is a severe threat for a group of birds already beleaguered by poisoning and habitat loss.
We know that wind farms are one of the most environmentally-friendly energy sources. Besides using a renewable resource, wind turbines release minimal amounts of carbon dioxide and actually take up very little land space since their structures occupy the air, rather than the land. However, for animals that need that air space, they can pose big problems.
A major new global assessment provides a wake-up call to decision-makers: we are not on track to meet universal goals for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Individual successes show that we have the knowledge and tools to turn things around, but transformative change, through stronger and sustained political commitment, is urgently needed to safeguard and restore the natural ecosystems on which we depend.
The Steppe Whimbrel is the rarest and least understood member of the highly threatened Numeniini tribe (curlews and godwits). But considering they were believed to be extinct 25 years ago, it’s unsurprising that we know so little about them. A newly published report is beginning to fill in the gaps in our knowledge.
In December last year, the call of one of the world’s rarest birds was identified and recorded for the first time by our Partner BirdLife South Africa. With fewer than 250 mature individuals remaining in the wild, the White-winged Flufftail Sarothrura ayresi is Critically Endangered, and at severe risk of extinction.
White Storks Ciconia ciconia are arriving in Europe following their epic migration across the African continent. They have weathered exhaustion, starvation and the threat of hunting, and now all they need is a place to settle down, build their nest and raise their young. But where can they find such a haven? There’s one place where storks are not only protected, but celebrated.
For thousands of years, European Turtle-doves have inspired humanity, serving as symbols of love, fidelity and new life. In Roman mythology, the bird was sacred to Demeter, Goddess of the harvest and fertility; in modern days, in Cockney rhyming slang, the words ‘turtle dove’ are used to mean ‘love’.
The European Honey-buzzard is fearless in the face of stinging wasps and hornets - but it has no defence against illegal shooting for sport. In Italy, “anti-poaching camps” sparked an extremely successful movement which has saved thousands of honey-buzzards.
The Common Quail is one of seven flagship birds in our Flight for Survival campaign to raise awareness of the scope and scale of the illegal killing of migratory birds.
The Eurasian Blackcap is one of seven flagship birds in our Flight for Survival campaignto raise awareness of the scope and scale of the illegal killing of migratory birds.
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