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Status and conservation of all Critically Endangered species updated
Our knowledge of the world's birds is increasing exponentially, and an electronic resource that can be continuously updated, like HBW Alive, is the ideal way to assimilate and present new information. By its very nature the Status and conservation section of HBW Alive is the text that changes and becomes obsolete most rapidly: not only are we learning ever more about the true status of each species, but their individual situations and prospects are also in constant flux. Over the past two years we have made a concerted effort to address this by focussing particular attention on the Status and conservation texts for the world's most threatened species, as well as those species whose conservation status has changed markedly since the publication of their respective HBW volume. During this time we have completed updates of all Critically Endangered species on HBW Alive. We currently recognise 208 Critically Endangered species (including 14 Possibly Extinct). The Status and conservation sections for all these species now incorporates information from the latest IUCN Red List (compiled by BirdLife International, the official IUCN Red List Authority), supplemented with data from more recent publications. As a consequence, many of the HBW Alive accounts currently provide the most up-to-date and accurate single source of information available on the conservation status of these birds, and will doubtless assist BirdLife in their comprehensive 2016 Red List update. Indeed, just as HBW Alive cites BirdLife International as its major source for information on status, recent BirdLife Forums and Factsheets now regularly reference individual HBW accounts. We now endeavour to keep information on Critically Endangered species up-to-date as new information is published and rediscoveries are made, like those involving Australia's Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis), the Solomon Islands' Guadalcanal Moustached Kingfisher (Actenoides excelsus) or Colombia's Blue-bearded Helmetcrest (Oxypogon cyanolaemus).
While this update of Critically Endangered process has been carried out, several major new regional Red Lists have been published. In June of this year the European Red List of Birds was launched, the effort of a consortium of bird conservation organisations coordinated by BirdLife International under the auspices of the European Commission. We are gradually working through the list of European species, many of whose conservation status has deteriorated dramatically in recent decades; 20 of these have been updated so far. At the same time, we are adding in information from the growing number of national Red Lists, the recently published Volume 1 of the Red Data Book of Colombian Birds being just one example.
In parallel, several taxonomic groups have been singled out for priority treatment, often because significant monographs have been published. For example, looking at some major Neotropical families, all members of the Tinamous (Tinamidae) and Cracids (Cracidae) have now been updated, together with all threatened Cotingas (Cotingidae).
What next? We will continue to work through the most threatened species, with the 418 Endangered species next on the to-do list. Species with older information will be updated at the same time, and we will continue to respond as quickly as possible to new information sources. In 2016, BirdLife International will be carrying out its four-yearly re-evaluation of the conservation status of the world's birds, a process which will certainly lead to multiple changes in IUCN Red List category, which will subsequently be incorporated in HBW Alive. So, there is plenty for us to do to keep up with the changing fortunes of the world's birds!
Chris Sharpe
Editor, HBW Alive
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