Overview

• A University of Reading study warns that climate change and habitat loss threaten over 500 of nearly 10,000 bird species with extinction by 2125
• Researchers found that even if all human-caused threats stopped today, roughly 250 species would still vanish due to already critical population declines
• Large-bodied birds face heightened risks from hunting and warming climates, while species with broad wings are hardest hit by habitat destruction
• Scientists stress that reducing threats alone is insufficient and call for specialised recovery measures such as captive breeding and habitat restoration
• Conservation modelling shows that focusing efforts on 100 of the most distinctive threatened birds could preserve 68% of the world’s avian shape and size diversity