RARE BIRDS

GURNEY’S PITTA

Once considered extinct,

a moderate population still survives in parts of Burma.

CRESTED IBIS

 The crested ibis has teetered on the brink of extinction for decades.

But co-operation between China and Japan to protect and

encourage breeding has boosted its numbers.

The crested ibis uses its long, curved bill to probe in

marshy areas for fish, frogs, molluscs and insects.

FLOREANA MOCKINGBIRDS

The climate of the Galapagos Islands where they live

is steadily becoming drier and this is thought to be a factor in their decline.

HOUBARA BUSTARD

 Having feathers in front of your face is awkward for a display posture,

meaning that an excited houbara bustard can often run into obstacles.

Like a miniature ostrich, it picks seeds, grasshoppers and locusts

from the arid earth of north Africa and the Canary Islands.

WHITE-RUMPED VULTURE

White-rumped vultures were once a familiar sight in the cities of southern Asia,

with a population numbering millions, but its numbers plummeted fast in the 1990s.

It was discovered that an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat injured cattle was to blame.

When the cattle died, the vultures would ingest the drug and suffer a slow, painful death.

THE REGENT HONEYEATER

The regent honeyeater once inhabited just about every vegetated area

of Australia but suffers even from subtle changes to its habitat.

It likes rich, moist forest, particularly dominated by eucalypts called ironbark and box.

The bird is now regularly seen in only four widely scattered locations.

THE PHILIPPINE EAGLE

The Philippine eagle could be one of the first big flagship species

to be driven to extinction by deforestation, The eagle is entirely

dependent on pristine forest dominated by large trees, but logging,

slash-and-burn agriculture and mining have reduced suitable habitat and food sources.

The species breed only once every two years, and the remaining population

is fragmented over the four islands, hampering conservation efforts.

 BALI MYNA

Bit of a dasher: the Bali myna has long been admired in the cage-bird trade

for its good looks and pleasing voice. Now protected by the Indonesian government,

they are guarded in a national park in Bali Barat against black market hunters.

In 2006, 37 birds were also released into a sanctuary in Nusa Penida,

an island off the south-east coast of Bali.