Out of the approximately 10,400 known bird species, about 1,300 (13%) are classified as threatened with extinction, 9% as near threatened and of the remaining 78% many populations are declining. There is a general consensus among scientists who study these trends that if human impact on the environment continues as it has one-third of all bird species and an even greater proportion of bird populations will be gone by the end of this century.
Since 1500, 150 species of birds have become extinct Historically, the majority of bird extinctions have occurred on islands, particularly those in the pacific. These include countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.
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Causes of bird extinction
Human activity is the greatest cause of bird extinction around the world. The top human causes of bird extinction involve: the increased human population, destruction of habitat (through development for habitation, logging, animal and single-crop agriculture, and invasive plants), bird trafficking, egg collecting, pollution (in fertilizers impacting native plants and diversity, pesticides, herbicides directly impacting them as well as the plant and animal food birds eat, including the food for their food source further down along the food chain), and climate change and global warming. Due to the increase in human population, humans are armed with more compelling destructive technology and invading within a variety of bird species natural habitats.
Natural
As climate change is caused by a variety of activities. The effect that climate change has on bird extinction is immense. Due to the rapid changes in temperature and climate the bio diverse earth can not progress with these factors. Severe weather conditions and long seasons, as well as a chemical atmosphere within their surroundings, makes it difficult for many species of birds to keep up with.
Sea level rise may flood islands killing the birds and other animals native to islands causing extinction.
Disease
Each species of birds carries defense mechanisms like resistances and the ability to fight disease. With the changing climate and atmosphere, many species are losing their ability to fight particular diseases. These bird species are becoming more susceptible to disease, which results to the downfall of extinction. The most common disease affecting birds is Salmonellosis, which originates from the Latin name of salmonella. Infected birds pass bacteria in their fecal droppings. Other birds then become ill when they eat food contaminated by the droppings.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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