The Philippines bird life is quite an extraordinary specialty of the country- as they contain almost 86 different endemic bird species. In fact, these 89 species have been found just over the last decade in this island nation- which is itself made up of 7,000 different islands. Unfortunately, there is a crisis brewing in the country as almost all the grasslands, forests and wetlands have been rapidly disappearing– creating a huge spot of bother for the 594 avian species that currently reside in the country.
Study On Philippines Bird Life Presents A Horrifying Picture
Almost a sixth of the Philippines Bird Life has been considered as threatened by the Red List of the IUCN- and almost 43% of them have been listed as critically endangered. The Philippines also has the eighth-highest population of bird species that are globally threatened- which include hornbills, rare pigeons, true owls, and Old World flycatchers. But this isn’t all for there are far more species that are facing this crisis- even more than what was reported- according to a study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
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The research team for this study on the Philippines’ Bird Life was led by biologists employed under the University of Utah. They rigorously assessed the Red List status of almost 446 resident bird species in the country by analyzing large amounts of data that was stored in a database. This database in itself was compiled from multiple peer-reviewed studies, field visits, ornithology books, BirdLife International as well as field guides. The researchers found out that almost 84 different species were at a far greater risk than what was indicated in the Red List status- including 14 species that deserve the status of globally threatened.
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This study also puts special emphasis on the effect of ecological, life-history as well as biogeographical traits on avian extinction risk. The results from the survey on the Philippines Bird Life did imply a far greater percentage of endemism, high forest dependency, narrower elevational range, as well as a considerably larger body that threatened the security of the avian species.
Kyle Kittelberger, the lead author on the study of Philippines Bird Life has stated that the study would definitely be a roadmap on which species need the most help- along with heightened attention towards conservation of wildlife.
