TOP EDGE Birds
Plains-wanderer
Pedionomus torquatus
The Plains-wanderer is an Australian endemic of great scientific interest.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Giant Ibis
Thaumatibis gigantea
The Giant Ibis is a huge, striking ibis, unique by virtue of its being the largest member of its family, as well as being the only member of its genus.
Conservation Attention
Low
New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar
Aegotheles savesi
This mysterious species, which has not been since 1998, continues to elude birdwatchers and researchers.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
California Condor
Gymnogyps californianus
Iconic and intimidating, the California condor is the largest land bird in North America
Conservation Attention
Good
Kagu
Rhynochetos jubatus
The Kagu is a highly unusual, almost flightless bird, which due to its startling ash-white plumage is known locally as the ‘ghost of the forest’.
Conservation Attention
Low
Christmas Frigatebird
Fregata andrewsi
The Christmas Island Frigatebird is the rarest endemic seabird on Christmas Island, Australia.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Bengal Florican
Houbaropsis bengalensis
This otherwise reclusive bird is best known for its elaborate courtship display, where the male’s black and white plumage is shown off to good effect in short arching display flights, as well as choreographed strutting – with fluffed up neck feathers and a head pumping action, to attract females.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Kakapo
Strigops habroptila
The nocturnal Kakapo or ‘Owl Parrot’ (so called because of its facial disc of owl-like whiskers) is a large, stocky, New Zealand endemic bird.
Conservation Attention
Good
Sumatran Ground-cuckoo
Carpococcyx viridis
The Sumatran Ground-cuckoo had not been seen for over 90 years until an individual was trapped in 1997.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
New Caledonian Nightjar
Eurostopodus exul
The New Caledonian Nightjar is known from only a single specimen taken in 1939!
Conservation Attention
Very Low
New Zealand Storm-petrel
Fregetta maoriana
This endemic New Zealand bird is one of the world’s smallest seabirds, weighing just 35g, despite belonging to the same order as the largest; the wandering albatross.
Conservation Attention
Good
South Island Kokako
Callaeas cinereus
The South Island kokako has not been seen since 2007, and may be already extinct.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
New Zealand Rockwren
Xenicus gilviventris
Endemic to New Zealand, this small wren was once found on both the North and the South Island.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Philippine Eagle
Pithecophaga jefferyi
The Philippine Eagle is one of the world’s largest, most powerful birds of prey.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Tooth-billed Pigeon
Didunculus strigirostris
Nicknamed the ‘little Dodo’, the Tooth-billed Pigeon is one of the closest living relatives to the iconic extinct Dodo.
Conservation Attention
Low
White-shouldered Ibis
Pseudibis davisoni
The White-shouldered ibis is a wading bird of the Threskiornithidae family, possessing the long, downward curved bill typical of this family.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Black-winged Trumpeter
Psophia obscura
Trumpeters are so called because they call out loudly when alarmed.
Conservation Attention
Low
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Calidris pygmaea
This little wading bird has an incredible and unique spatula-shaped bill.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Maleo
Macrocephalon maleo
This large, predominantly black and white bird is found on two islands within Indonesia.
Conservation Attention
Low
Hooded Grebe
Podiceps gallardoi
Only discovered in 1974 the Hooded Grebe is found in regions across Argentina and possibly Chile.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Black-hooded Coucal
Centropus steerii
This large, dark cuckoo is critically endangered and now has a very limited range and severely fragmented population, surviving in tiny pockets of remaining primary forest.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Jamaican Poorwill
Siphonorhis americana
The Jamaican Poorwill hasn’t been officially recorded since 1860, though there have been recent unconfirmed reports.
Conservation Attention
Low
Dwarf Ibis
Bostrychia bocagei
The Dwarf Ibis (also known as Dwarf Olive Ibis or São Tomé Ibis) is a small forest dwelling bird found on the island of São Tomé.
Conservation Attention
Low
Rufous Scrub-bird
Atrichornis rufescens
The Rufous Scrub-bird is a medium-sized ground dwelling bird found in small patches of high altitude rainforest on the east coast of Australia.
Conservation Attention
Low
Noisy Scrub-bird
Atrichornis clamosus
This small, essentially flightless bird is found in Western Australia.
Conservation Attention
Good
Helmeted Hornbill
Rhinoplax vigil
As recent as 2012 the Helmeted Hornbill was listed as Near Threatened, but in 2015 it was uplisted to Critically Endangered.
Conservation Attention
Low
Junin Grebe
Podiceps taczanowskii
This flightless bird spends most of its time on the open water of Lake Junin, Peru – only going to the shore when nesting.
Conservation Attention
Low
Peruvian Diving-petrel
Pelecanoides garnotii
The Peruvian Diving-petrel flies just above the water surface and often travel straight through waves.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Australian Painted-snipe
Rostratula australis
This Australian endemic bird occurs widely but unevenly across the continent.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Guadalupe Storm-petrel
Hydrobates macrodactylus
The Guadalupe Storm-petrel was once abundant on Guadalupe, Mexico in 1906, but the last record of a breeding bird was in 1912.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Southern Red-breasted Plover
Charadrius obscurus
The Southern Red-breasted Plover is the largest member of its genus at 25cm tall. Its sandy colour camouflages it against the beach and sand dunes of its habitat.
Conservation Attention
Medium
New Caledonian Rail
Gallirallus lafresnayanus
The New Caledonian Rail has not been recorded since 1890, and is believed to have a total population size of below 50 mature individuals, if not extinct.
Conservation Attention
Low
Shoebill
Balaeniceps rex
This large waterbird is unmistakable due to its unique ‘shoe-shaped’ bill which gives it an almost prehistoric appearance – reminding us of birds’ dinosaur ancestry.
Conservation Attention
Good
Jerdon’s Courser
Rhinoptilus bitorquatus
For over 85 years, the Jerdon’s Courser was thought to be extinct until it was sensationally rediscovered in 1986.
Conservation Attention
Medium
Red-headed Vulture
Sarcogyps calvus
The exact purpose of the striking bald head of a Vulture has long been assumed to be a form of protection from infection; as they put their whole heads into carcasses.
Conservation Attention
Low
Congo Bay-owl
Phodilus prigoginei
Only two records of this beautiful owl exist, both of which were of female birds – the male of the species is yet to be described.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Dwarf Tinamou
Taoniscus nanus
This small plump, short-legged tinamou is generally pale buffy-brown with some barring and streaking and with a dark centre of crown and is only able to fly about 50m at one time.
Conservation Attention
Low
Hooded Vulture
Necrosyrtes monachus
The Hooded Vulture is a scruffy looking Old World vulture.
Conservation Attention
Good
Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher
Alcedo euryzona
The Javan Blue-banded Kingfisher is endemic to Java, Indonesia.
Conservation Attention
Low
Sangihe Shrike-thrush
Coracornis sanghirensis
Very little is known about this rare and elusive species, which was only rediscovered in 1985.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Sulu Hornbill
Anthracoceros montani
The population of Sulu Hornbills is thought to be a shockingly small number of just 27 adults.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Cuban Kite
Chondrohierax wilsonii
This small raptor has only ever been recorded on the island of Cuba, last being observed in the Humboldt Park on the east of the island.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Masked Finfoot
Heliopais personatus
The Masked Finfoot belongs to a very small family of tropical birds called the Heliornithidae, consisting of just three species, each allocated to their own genus.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Chapin’s Crombec
Sylvietta chapini
Chapin’s Crombec is only known from three specimens collected in the 1940s on the Lendu Plateau, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Conservation Attention
Low
Waved Albatross
Phoebastria irrorata
This large and beautiful bird has a huge wing-span of nearly 2.4 metres!
Conservation Attention
Low
Cebu Brown-dove
Phapitreron frontalis
The Cebu Brown-dove is endemic to the island of Cebu in the Philippines.
Conservation Attention
Low
Eskimo Curlew
Numenius borealis
The Eskimo Curlew was once very abundant and numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
Slender-billed Curlew
Numenius tenuirostris
Like all curlews, this species has cryptic (meaning it employs markings and colouration serving to camouflage itself in its natural environment) plumage and a long, down-curved bill.
Conservation Attention
Medium
New Caledonian Buttonquail
Turnix novaecaledoniae
The New Caledonian Buttonquail is only know from the type specimen (the original individual from which this species was described), which is currently in the British Museum.
Conservation Attention
Low
Rufous-headed Hornbill
Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni
This colourful and distinctive bird is one of the most endangered Hornbills.
Conservation Attention
Very Low
