One in eight of the world's birds - more than 1200 species - faces extinction because of a crisis affecting avian habitats around the world, according to a new report.
About 12 per cent of the 10,000 known bird species are seriously threatened, of which some 179are critically endangered with a serious possibility of imminent extinction, according to a survey by BirdLife International.
About 400 species of endangered birds are still waiting for conservation action three years after they were formally identified as being in serious danger, the bird charity says.
However, in its State of the World's Birds 2004, BirdLife International also describes how nearly a quarter of the globally threatened birds - about 280 species - have begun to benefit from protection measures introduced by governments and conservation bodies.
In 4 per cent of these species, the benefit has already resulted in "significant" improvements in the outlook for birds that would otherwise almost certainly become extinct, says BirdLife International.
Nevertheless, the wider prospects for the world's birds are not good, said Michael Rands. "State of the World's Birds presents firm evidence that we are losing birds and other biodiversity at an alarming rate," Rands said. The survey found that about 80 per cent of the globally threatened birds - 966 species - had populations below 10,000 individuals, with 41 per cent (502 species) below 2500 individuals.
BirdLife found that 77 threatened species of birds were teetering on the edge of existence with populations of fewer than 50 individuals capable of breeding.
Despite the pessimism, there are key signs of success. BirdLife has identified more than 7500 areas in the world covering 170 countries that are important conservation sites where measures can be introduced to preserve viable breeding populations and important migratory routes.
