More than 10 per cent of the world's 9,700 bird species are threatened with extinction, say ornithologists. Only one native British bird, the corncrake, is on the endangered list although many others have suffered a sharp fall in numbers over the past two decades.
About a hundred species, including rare pigeons, parrots and sea birds, could disappear within five years, researchers say. Loss of habitat is blamed for the plight of at least 50 per cent of endangered birds, especially the clearance of tropical forest and drainage of wetlands. "We reckon that 1,111 birds are at serious risk, compared with 1,030 at the last count in 1988," Nigel Collar, research fellow with Birdlife International, said. "We were able to take 214 birds off the old list, but 295 new ones have come on."
More than 400 delegates from 78 countries are reviewing the latest research at the Birdlife International XXI World Conference in Rosenheim, Germany. An updated list of endangered species will be published in the autumn.
By far the biggest number of threatened species is found in developing countries. About 300 are located in South and Central America, 300 in South-East Asia and 200 in Africa, compared with fewer than 40 in Europe and North America.
Mike Everett, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: "The trapping of birds to meet the demands of the international trade in wild species is another important factor, as is the introduction of predator animals into areas where they did not previously exist."
The world's rarest bird is thought to be Spix's macaw, a vivid blue parrot. In recent years only one has been sighted in the wild, in Brazil.
