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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/birding/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2026 15:37:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Birding</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/birding/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>A shy bird found only in Nepal is waiting for the world to notice</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-shy-bird-found-only-in-nepal-is-waiting-for-the-world-to-notice/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-shy-bird-found-only-in-nepal-is-waiting-for-the-world-to-notice/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>04 Aug 2026 11:01:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bibek Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/04104809/Spiny_babbler_the_only_endemic_bird_of_Nepal-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325290</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Habitat, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nepal’s shrubby hillsides are home to a medium-sized bird with brownish upperparts, distinctive black streaks from the shafts of its feathers and, sometimes, a chalky white facial patch. It’s the spiny babbler (Turdoides nipalensis), a mysterious bird, recorded only in Nepal. In June, the bird made headlines with a sighting for the first time in the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nepal’s shrubby hillsides are home to a medium-sized bird with brownish upperparts, distinctive black streaks from the shafts of its feathers and, sometimes, a chalky white facial patch. It’s the spiny babbler (Turdoides nipalensis), a mysterious bird, recorded only in Nepal. In June, the bird made headlines with a sighting for the first time in the forests of Madhesh province, in Nepal’s southern lowlands. With this recording, the bird has now been spotted in all of Nepal’s seven provinces. In Kathmandu, sightings of the bird have been recorded from the fringes of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park to the foothills of Phulchowki, as well as at various locations in and around Pokhara, usually at an elevation ranging from 915 to 2,135 meters (3,000 to 7,000 feet) above sea level depending on the season. But in June, ornithologists Hathan Chaudhary and Suraj Baral identified the bird in Madhesh for the first time, at an elevation of around 443 m (1,450 ft). This sighting means the spiny babbler has now been documented across all of Nepal’s seven provinces. Despite its limited known habitat, the spiny babbler remains poorly understood and researchers and ornithologists are calling for greater global attention to study and protect it. Despite its limited known habitat, the spiny babbler remains poorly understood. Image by Aardwolf6886 via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0). “We still don’t know a lot about the bird and have no scientific data to back its population, movements, exact breeding season/months and the effects of increasing human settlements,” said Kamal Raj&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-shy-bird-found-only-in-nepal-is-waiting-for-the-world-to-notice/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-shy-bird-found-only-in-nepal-is-waiting-for-the-world-to-notice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325290</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How birders in Chad ‘found’ the rusty lark, a bird lost to science for nearly a century</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 12:47:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sharon Guynup]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/10163732/Rusty-Lark-260202-mirafra_Mongo_feb26%C2%A9Birard_DefosduRau_pm4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323087</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Chad, and Sahel]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Biology, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Rediscovered Species, Research, Species, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The morning of Feb. 2, 2026, started like many others for Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard: It was hot and sunny with a gentle breeze, ideal birding weather. The two French ornithologists, who have been birding since their teens and have traveled the world in search of birds, were at Abou Telfane Game [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The morning of Feb. 2, 2026, started like many others for Pierre Defos du Rau and Julien Birard: It was hot and sunny with a gentle breeze, ideal birding weather. The two French ornithologists, who have been birding since their teens and have traveled the world in search of birds, were at Abou Telfane Game Reserve in central Chad, looking for migratory birds that visit Sahelian wetlands. The duo has surveyed birds in Chad since 2016, they said, keeping detailed records of the winged visitors that fly across the Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert to overwinter in the Sahel every year, and catch any signs of trouble. Birds in the region face many threats: The construction of cities and farms drains their wetland homes; droughts — made more intense and frequent in a warming world — dry up water bodies; and some migratory species are hunted as bushmeat in conflict-prone countries, where food is scarce. Defos du Rau works at the French Biodiversity Agency, while Birard is at the nonprofit Tour du Valat Research Institute. On that early February day, they were joined by Idriss Dapsia and Abakar Saleh Wachoum from the Chadian governmental department for wildlife and protected areas, as part of a collaboration between the two countries for biodiversity monitoring. The team started the day with a plan in mind. “We had set ourselves the (unlikely) goal of searching for the Kordofan rufous sparrow,” Birard said, referring to a species found only in southwestern Sudan and across the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/how-birders-in-chad-found-the-rusty-lark-a-bird-lost-to-science-for-nearly-a-century/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323087</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Nepal&#8217;s birdwatchers help monitor wildlife and promote tourism</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Jul 2026 15:09:44 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Bibek Bhandari]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/06123303/Spiny-Babbler-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322563</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Citizen Science, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, data, Ecotourism, Environment, Research, Science, Tourism, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — As a child, Shankar Tiwari and his friends killed birds for fun around Chitwan National Park in central Nepal, where they grew up. Years later, a foreign guest at the hotel where Tiwari worked took him birdwatching and turned the hunter into a bird lover. The striking yellow and black plumage and red [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — As a child, Shankar Tiwari and his friends killed birds for fun around Chitwan National Park in central Nepal, where they grew up. Years later, a foreign guest at the hotel where Tiwari worked took him birdwatching and turned the hunter into a bird lover. The striking yellow and black plumage and red eyes of the black-hooded oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), which he saw magnified through binoculars for the first time, sparked Tiwari&#8217;s lifelong passion for birds, he said. Today, the 57-year-old is one of Nepal&#8217;s leading birdwatching guides and a prominent member of the country&#8217;s growing birdwatching community that is contributing to bird conservation while promoting it as a tourism attraction. Enthusiasts look for birds in Suryabinayak, Kathmandu. Image courtesy of Prasan Shrestha. &#8220;The birdwatching community has grown significantly today,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This has helped not just in raising awareness of the birds, but the community also helps in keeping tabs on the birds — how their habitat and population have changed over the years.&#8221; A new study suggests that birdwatching is becoming increasingly popular in Nepal, particularly among the young, and that this trend &#8220;contributes to biodiversity conservation through public engagement and ecological data collection.&#8221; In Nepal&#8217;s capital, Kathmandu, nonprofits like Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) and Friends of Birds organize events on weekends, drawing a diverse group of birdwatchers. Despite the increasing popularity of birdwatching, the study notes, public participation and data sharing remain limited. A black-hooded oriole, the bird that sparked Tiwari’s lifelong passion for birds.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/nepals-birdwatchers-help-monitor-wildlife-and-promote-tourism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322563</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How Namibia&#8217;s bird conservation projects build community resilience (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-namibias-bird-conservation-projects-build-community-resilience-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-namibias-bird-conservation-projects-build-community-resilience-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Mar 2026 16:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Martha Karas]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/23152715/143_Lilac-breasted_roller_in_Etosha_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent-e1774279787746-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316139</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Namibia, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Commentary, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, and Gender]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In Namibia’s Karas Region, birds are more than symbols of freedom or beauty — they are teachers of resilience. Their survival in arid landscapes mirrors the endurance of the communities who live alongside them. Grassroots bird conservation projects here have revealed something profound: protecting birds can also strengthen families, nurture hope, and build social cohesion. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In Namibia’s Karas Region, birds are more than symbols of freedom or beauty — they are teachers of resilience. Their survival in arid landscapes mirrors the endurance of the communities who live alongside them. Grassroots bird conservation projects here have revealed something profound: protecting birds can also strengthen families, nurture hope, and build social cohesion. Across villages in Karas, parents and children tend habitats together, restoring nesting sites and planting native vegetation. These acts of care are not only ecological interventions; they are lessons in patience and problem solving. When a child sees a weaverbird return to a reed bed that the community has protected, it is a moment of triumph that teaches perseverance in the face of environmental challenges. Women and youth are at the forefront of these initiatives. In one community, a group of young women organized bird walks for schoolchildren, teaching them to identify species like the sociable weaver and the pale chanting goshawk. Their leadership has inspired confidence among peers and shown that conservation is not the domain of scientists alone — it is a practice of everyday resilience. Sociable weavers nesting in acacia trees, Karas Region, Namibia. Image courtesy of Martha Karas. These projects also counter the isolation that environmental stress can bring. Droughts and land degradation often erode social bonds, but bird conservation has become a rallying point. Families gather to monitor nesting sites, share stories, and celebrate small victories. In doing so, they weave resilience into the social fabric. Conservation here is not&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-namibias-bird-conservation-projects-build-community-resilience-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/how-namibias-bird-conservation-projects-build-community-resilience-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316139</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Funding is needed to save Samoa’s ‘little dodo’ from extinction (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Sep 2025 16:27:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gianluca Serra]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/09/18152124/manumea-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=306169</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Pacific Islands and Samoa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Bioacoustics, Birding, Birds, Commentary, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Ecotourism, Endangered Species, Environment, Ethics, Extinction, Funding, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Islands, philanthropy, Rainforests, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Sustainable Development, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It’s early August 2025. Deep in the rainforests of Upolu, on the island of Samoa, Moeumu “Moe” Uili and I have paused our hike, counting the seconds between coo calls from an unseen pigeon hidden in the dense canopy. Moe mutters, “Nah, the intervals between the calls are too irregular. That’s got to be a [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It’s early August 2025. Deep in the rainforests of Upolu, on the island of Samoa, Moeumu “Moe” Uili and I have paused our hike, counting the seconds between coo calls from an unseen pigeon hidden in the dense canopy. Moe mutters, “Nah, the intervals between the calls are too irregular. That’s got to be a lupe,” referring to the much more common Pacific imperial pigeon (Ducula pacifica). “Are you still using the number of coo calls per sequence to distinguish lupe from manumea?” I ask per the latter bird and the object of our search: the tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris), also called “the little dodo.” “Not anymore,” she replies. “Turns out lupe can have sequences of up to 40 calls &#8230;” “Damn,” I sigh. A bird &#8216;hide&#8217; or &#8216;blind&#8217; built in Uafato in hopes of facilitating an extremely rare sighting of an adult manumea, Samoa&#8217;s critically endangered &#8216;little dodo.&#8217; Image courtesy of Samoa Conservation Society. It’s been a few years since I last joined a manumea search, and I’m glad to be here again. The rainforest of Samoa still enchants me — its timeless atmosphere, stifling humidity, slippery trails, and chorus of bizarre bird calls. Towering tree ferns, giant leaves, dangling lichens, parasitic orchids and humongous strangling ficus (“the kings of the forest,” or aoa in Samoan) all surrounded by a cacophony of pigeons, doves and honey-eaters. Among them, the high-pitched whistles of the ma‘oma‘o (Gymnomyza samoensis), an endangered and endemic giant honey-eater, pierces the stillness. It’s one of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/09/funding-is-needed-save-samoas-little-dodo-from-extinction-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-306169</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Out-of-range albatross makes a highlight in the revival of seabird watching in Sri Lanka</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/out-of-range-albatross-makes-a-highlight-in-the-revival-of-seabird-watching-in-sri-lanka/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/out-of-range-albatross-makes-a-highlight-in-the-revival-of-seabird-watching-in-sri-lanka/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2025 07:14:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malaka Rodrigo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Dilrukshi Handunnetti]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/09062642/1-Great-Crested-and-swift-Terns-c-Garry-Alport-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302076</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indian Ocean, South Asia, and Sri Lanka]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Environment, Marine, Marine Conservation, Migration, Oceans, Research, and Seabirds]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Young birder Lahiru Walpita begins most of his days at dawn by scanning the skies for seabirds along the coastline in northern Sri Lanka. In July 2024, during one of his routine beach surveys, Walpita noticed a large bird trailing a fishing vessel. It circled gracefully with wings outstretched, before vanishing into the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[COLOMBO — Young birder Lahiru Walpita begins most of his days at dawn by scanning the skies for seabirds along the coastline in northern Sri Lanka. In July 2024, during one of his routine beach surveys, Walpita noticed a large bird trailing a fishing vessel. It circled gracefully with wings outstretched, before vanishing into the horizon, he says, just long enough for him to capture a few photographs. From its shape and size, he had a hunch about its identity, and consultations with experts confirmed it was a grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma). This marked a groundbreaking moment — not only was it the first-ever albatross recorded in Sri Lankan waters, but also the first confirmed sighting north of the equator, says ornithologist Sampath Seneviratne, a professor of zoology at the University of Colombo. “These albatrosses typically dwell in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and rarely stray far from their home range. This is a truly remarkable observation,” he tells Mongabay. This grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) was the first-ever confirmed albatross recorded in Sri Lankan waters as well as to the north of the equator. Image by Lahiru Walpita. Over the past few years, Walpita’s diligent ocean-watching — especially around Mannar Island in northern Sri Lanka — has led to sightings of elusive seabirds such as the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), tropical shearwater (Puffinus bailloni) and Jouanin&#8217;s petrel (Bulweria fallax). During his beach surveys, Walpita has rescued over 150 pelagic birds. He has also collected over 60 dead pelagic birds that&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/out-of-range-albatross-makes-a-highlight-in-the-revival-of-seabird-watching-in-sri-lanka/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/out-of-range-albatross-makes-a-highlight-in-the-revival-of-seabird-watching-in-sri-lanka/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302076</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In Colombia, bird-watching brings tourism and a love for conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/in-colombia-bird-watching-brings-tourism-and-a-love-for-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/in-colombia-bird-watching-brings-tourism-and-a-love-for-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2025 13:58:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Charlie Cordero]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/06/23133727/MincaGlobalBigDay-Charlie-14-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=301214</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Ecotourism, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Private Reserves, Protected Areas, Solutions, Tourism, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[It was 3 in the morning when Lorenzo Mora, 41, was getting ready to go bird-watching. This wasn’t just any birding trip: he’d meticulously prepared his boots, clothes, jacket, recorder, speaker, laser pointer, vehicle and binoculars days in advance. “I went to bed at 6 last night,” he said, as I hopped on the back [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[It was 3 in the morning when Lorenzo Mora, 41, was getting ready to go bird-watching. This wasn’t just any birding trip: he’d meticulously prepared his boots, clothes, jacket, recorder, speaker, laser pointer, vehicle and binoculars days in advance. “I went to bed at 6 last night,” he said, as I hopped on the back of his motorcycle. We began a two-hour journey in the darkness, navigating muddy trails to La Cuchilla de San Lorenzo, 2,600 meters (about 8,500 feet) above sea level, near the peak of Cerro Kennedy, in the heart of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range. It was May 11, also known by the bird-watching community as the Global Big Day, an annual event organized by Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology in the U.S., during which thousands of people across the world aim to record as many bird species as possible in a single day.  Using the eBird platform, the event promotes citizen science and conservation. Mora was hoping to beat his personal best and make it into the ranks of Colombia’s top 10 birders. His family has been growing coffee on the Biscanieves farm in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the northern department of Magdalena, for more than 60 years. From a young age, Mora was always drawn to birds. Lorenzo Mora, 41, rides along the rugged road from Minca to La Cuchilla de San Lorenzo, at 2,600 meters above sea level, to begin his Global Big Day journey. Image by Charlie Cordero. “My&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/in-colombia-bird-watching-brings-tourism-and-a-love-for-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-301214</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Concrete sprawl in Buddha’s birthplace in Nepal threatens sarus cranes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/concrete-sprawl-in-buddhas-birthplace-in-nepal-threatens-sarus-cranes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/concrete-sprawl-in-buddhas-birthplace-in-nepal-threatens-sarus-cranes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 May 2025 11:40:40 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mukesh Pokhrel]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/05/19111522/2-3-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=299230</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Buddhism, Cities, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Farming, Fragmentation, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, and Religions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUMBINI, Nepal — Legend has it that before he became the Buddha, a young Prince Siddhartha Gautama nursed an injured sarus crane (Antigone antigone)  back to health. Since then, the bird and the faith have been closely intertwined, and nowhere more so than in Lumbini gardens in Nepal, hailed as the birthplace of the Buddha. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUMBINI, Nepal — Legend has it that before he became the Buddha, a young Prince Siddhartha Gautama nursed an injured sarus crane (Antigone antigone)  back to health. Since then, the bird and the faith have been closely intertwined, and nowhere more so than in Lumbini gardens in Nepal, hailed as the birthplace of the Buddha. Yet with the recent commemoration of Vesak, the holiest festival in Buddhism, marking the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha, the fate of the sarus crane in Lumbini looks grim. Sajrudin Musalman grew up here seeing the birds wherever he went, he tells Mongabay. They would drift gracefully over his home and fields, sparking wonder and delight, he says. “When cranes came close, it felt like something out of this world,” says Musalman, now 72, who lives near the ancient ruins believed to mark the Buddha’s birthplace. “We’d scour the fields for their nests, thrilled just to find their eggs.” Buddhist monks in Lumbini.  Image by Aleksandr Zykov via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Things have changed in the intervening decades. Musalman is the mayor now, and he doesn’t see as many cranes as before. Unplanned urbanization and land-use change in Lumbini have pushed the sarus crane out of its habitat and slashed its population. Musalman’s views are echoed by others in the region. A recent study incorporating responses from 459 people across four districts in Lumbini province reported that 59% of respondents said they believed the range of the bird has shrunk in the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/concrete-sprawl-in-buddhas-birthplace-in-nepal-threatens-sarus-cranes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-299230</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Trophies’ shared on social media reveal scale of mass bird slaughter in Lebanon</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/trophies-shared-on-social-media-reveal-scale-of-mass-bird-slaughter-in-lebanon/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/trophies-shared-on-social-media-reveal-scale-of-mass-bird-slaughter-in-lebanon/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>17 Apr 2025 14:10:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Spoorthy Raman]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/17051926/kestrel-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=297740</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Lebanon, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Over-hunting, Poaching, Raptors, Trophy Hunting, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Every year, during the Northern Hemisphere spring and autumn, the skies over Lebanon are dotted with millions of birds on their epic migrations. From soaring Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) to charismatic white storks (Ciconia ciconia), more than 500 species of birds traverse the African-Eurasian flyway, which funnels over Lebanon, as they migrate between their breeding [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Every year, during the Northern Hemisphere spring and autumn, the skies over Lebanon are dotted with millions of birds on their epic migrations. From soaring Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) to charismatic white storks (Ciconia ciconia), more than 500 species of birds traverse the African-Eurasian flyway, which funnels over Lebanon, as they migrate between their breeding grounds in Europe and their wintering grounds in Africa. “It&#8217;s an incredible spectacle,” says seabird biologist Andre Raine, science director at Archipelago Research and Conservation in Hawai‘i. “You can see thousands of storks, huge flocks of eagles, honey-buzzards, sparrowhawks … they&#8217;re just coming through in waves and waves and waves.” But this avian spectacle draws in a darker element. As large flocks of migratory birds fly over Lebanon and other countries in the region, they become an easy target for poachers, who fire indiscriminately at them, sometimes killing almost every bird in a single flock. Across the Mediterranean, people shoot dead an estimated 11 million to 36 million birds each year, and in Lebanon, one of the worst countries in the region for bird poaching, that number stands at 2.6 million birds a year. “The scale of it is intense … you have to see it to believe it,” Raine says. “You can go to mountaintops … and it&#8217;s just littered with snowdrifts of feathers of raptors, where you&#8217;re wading through, sometimes up to your knees, in dead birds.” What’s also harrowing is that many dead birds don’t end up as food on the table,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/trophies-shared-on-social-media-reveal-scale-of-mass-bird-slaughter-in-lebanon/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/trophies-shared-on-social-media-reveal-scale-of-mass-bird-slaughter-in-lebanon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-297740</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Maltese Falcon Poachers: European hunters endanger Egypt’s birds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/maltese-falcon-poachers-european-hunters-endanger-egypts-birds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/maltese-falcon-poachers-european-hunters-endanger-egypts-birds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Apr 2025 19:59:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mahmoud ElsobkyWael El-Sayegh]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Daniel]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/04/02172057/illustration-Malta-Bird_Smuggling-v1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=296943</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Egypt, Malta, and North Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Illegal Trade, Over-hunting, Poaching, Raptors, Trophy Hunting, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The New Arab and The Shift co-published a set of edited versions of this investigation. As the sun hung low over the Nile, casting golden ripples across the water, we navigated Lake Nasser. The air carried whispers of wings overhead, the soft rustle of migratory birds seeking refuge during their epic winter journey from Europe [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The New Arab and The Shift co-published a set of edited versions of this investigation. As the sun hung low over the Nile, casting golden ripples across the water, we navigated Lake Nasser. The air carried whispers of wings overhead, the soft rustle of migratory birds seeking refuge during their epic winter journey from Europe to Africa. In January 2024, it was here, in these seemingly tranquil landscapes, that we began unraveling the tangled web of illegal bird hunting — a world where beauty and brutality collide. Evidence was everywhere. In Malta, freezers filled with bird skins and carcasses were confiscated in raids, many tied directly to hunting expeditions in Egypt. The scenes were grotesque: a clash of cultures, politics and conservation. Hashim Morsi, an Egyptian bird-watcher, recalled a shocking find in 2017. He discovered around 7,000 dead birds along an approximately 15-kilometer (9-mile) stretch near Port Said. Many bore the hallmarks of Maltese poaching: plastic wrapping bearing text in Maltese. In a call with Mahmoud*, a veteran hunting guide, he told us that “Italian hunters usually want ducks. Maltese hunters are the ones who want different kinds. The Maltese hunters take everything in sight … even stray dogs if they get the chance. In Aswan, I had Maltese clients, and we did what we could there.” From Aswan, our investigation took us deeper into Egypt’s rural heartlands, tracing a shadowy trail to Fayoum and beyond. There, The New Arab (TNA) uncovered the digital footprints of Maltese hunters flaunting their&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/maltese-falcon-poachers-european-hunters-endanger-egypts-birds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/maltese-falcon-poachers-european-hunters-endanger-egypts-birds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-296943</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>How birds deepen our awareness of nature: Interview with Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/how-birds-deepen-our-awareness-of-nature-interview-with-ayuwat-jearwattanakanok/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/how-birds-deepen-our-awareness-of-nature-interview-with-ayuwat-jearwattanakanok/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Feb 2025 01:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Carolyn Cowan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/20144830/Banner_bird-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=294764</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Endangered Species, Farming, Forests, Green, Hunting, Marine, Migration, Protected Areas, Tropical Forests, Wildlife, and Wildlife Trade]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Growing up in northern Thailand, Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok would sketch and paint the birds he saw during family outings. These early artistic pursuits soon fledged into a lifelong passion for avian lifeforms. Over the past two decades, Ayuwat has photographed and observed the diversity of Thailand’s bird life throughout the country’s forests, wetlands, mudflats, salt pans, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Growing up in northern Thailand, Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok would sketch and paint the birds he saw during family outings. These early artistic pursuits soon fledged into a lifelong passion for avian lifeforms. Over the past two decades, Ayuwat has photographed and observed the diversity of Thailand’s bird life throughout the country’s forests, wetlands, mudflats, salt pans, limestone crags and agricultural fields. This body of work recently culminated in his new book, The Birds of Thailand. Aimed at tourists and beginner bird-watchers, the book details the characteristics of common and rarer species alike, alongside information about some of their favorite haunts. After starting out as a sustainability researcher, Ayuwat spent many years working with the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST), the local affiliate of BirdLife International. His focus there was on the conservation of flagship species, such as helmeted hornbills (Rhinoplax vigil) and spoon-billed sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea). Today, he dedicates his time to writing and leading bird tours. While Ayuwat notes the threats to birds from hunting, the wildlife trade and Southeast Asia’s rapid development, he says he’s buoyed by a rising public interest in birds in Thailand and remains cautiously optimistic about Thailand’s ability to preserve its impressive range of bird species. Mongabay’s Carolyn Cowan recently spoke with Ayuwat about the work that went into compiling his latest book and what he perceives as the most pressing bird conservation issues in Thailand. The following interview has been lightly edited for length. Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok leads bird tours in Thailand. Image courtesy&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/how-birds-deepen-our-awareness-of-nature-interview-with-ayuwat-jearwattanakanok/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-294764</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Better government policies could help as migratory birds lose habitat in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Feb 2025 08:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Pinky Akter]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/05074709/common-pochard-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293912</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Coastal Ecosystems, Conservation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Policy, Freshwater, Governance, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Lakes, Mangroves, Migration, Water Scarcity, Wetlands, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh transforms into a mesmerizing haven of migratory birds every winter, particularly in its haors (swampy wetlands) and coastal areas. These birds undertake incredible journeys from northern Mongolia, parts of Tibet and China, and Russia and Siberia’s tundra, seeking respite from harsh winters, flying towards the abundant food and favorable climates in South Asia. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Bangladesh transforms into a mesmerizing haven of migratory birds every winter, particularly in its haors (swampy wetlands) and coastal areas. These birds undertake incredible journeys from northern Mongolia, parts of Tibet and China, and Russia and Siberia’s tundra, seeking respite from harsh winters, flying towards the abundant food and favorable climates in South Asia. The birds enter Bangladesh via two routes, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and the Central Asian Flyway, which was recognized by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) in 2010. The birds arrive at six predominant wetland habitat sites during the winter months: three haor regions — Hakaluki Haor, Tanguar Haor and Hail Haor — and three coastal areas — Nijhum Dwip National Park, Sonadia Island and Ganguirar Char. These areas host thousands of migratory birds every year, creating picturesque landscapes and becoming popular among birdwatchers. However, their numbers have declined significantly over the past few decades due to rapid habitat loss caused by several unfavorable government policies, raising concerns among conservationists and researchers. Bangladesh transforms into a mesmerizing haven of migratory birds every winter, particularly in its haors and coastal areas. Image by Faisal Akram via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0). Declining numbers and causes A recent study in Tanguar Haor analyzed 69 bird species, of which 41 are migratory, and found a declining trend in bird species. Tanguar Haor, which covers 9,500 hectares (23,475 acres) in Sunamganj district, is one of the primary winter refuges for migratory birds, hosting around 43% of the country’s total migratory birds&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/02/better-government-policies-could-help-as-migratory-birds-lose-habitat-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293912</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Birdwatchers rally behind endemic hummingbird, spurring conservation movement in Mexico</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/birdwatchers-rally-behind-endemic-hummingbird-spurring-conservation-movement-in-mexico/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/birdwatchers-rally-behind-endemic-hummingbird-spurring-conservation-movement-in-mexico/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jan 2025 14:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tamara Blazquez Haik]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/22111526/1-4-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293243</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Latin America, Mexico, and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Protected Areas, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Nestled in the thorny shrubs of the dry forests of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, a small bird lights a spark for a promising future. After flying under scientists’ radar for many years, the Mexican sheartail (Doricha eliza) is now fighting for its survival with the help of an improbable ally: the expanding birdwatching [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Nestled in the thorny shrubs of the dry forests of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, a small bird lights a spark for a promising future. After flying under scientists’ radar for many years, the Mexican sheartail (Doricha eliza) is now fighting for its survival with the help of an improbable ally: the expanding birdwatching community in Mexico.  A popular destination for birdwatching, Mexico has more than 1,120 bird species, representing more than 10% of the world’s total number of bird species. Among those, the country is home to around 58 different species of hummingbirds that face growing threats from climate change and deforestation.  Despite its adaptability, the Mexican sheartail relies on the tropical dry forests and savannas of central Veracruz. However, since 2001, 480,000 hectares (1.18 million acres) Veracruz’ forests have been destroyed to make way for urban expansion, citrus and sugar cane plantations, and grasslands for cattle ranching. Losing its habitat remains the biggest threat to the sheartail’s survival. Due to the species’ unique and awe-inspiring courtship display, in which the male soars high into the sky to then plummet down in a hypnotic dance for its mate, the sheartail requires vast amounts of open wilderness. Its nesting habits are also specific, as females in Veracruz mainly build nests in the Sierra Madre nightshade (Solanum houstonii), a plant with beautiful purple flowers of the nightshade family which only grows in these dry forests. The Mexican sheartail&#8217;s habitat includes wide open savannas and dry forests with lots of thorny&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/birdwatchers-rally-behind-endemic-hummingbird-spurring-conservation-movement-in-mexico/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293243</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top new species from 2024</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2024 22:47:48 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/01222118/Image-1-Leopardus-tigrinus-pardinoides-Cuenca-3-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=292398</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Asia, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Cameroon, Central America, Chile, China, Global, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Malaysia, Mekong Basin, Pacific Ocean, Peru, South America, and Vietnam]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Traditional Knowledge, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A giant anaconda, a vampire hedgehog, a dwarf squirrel, and a tiger cat were among the new species named by science in 2024. Found from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the mountaintops of Southeast Asia, each new species shows us that even our well-known world contains unexplored chambers of life. This year, in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo Landscape alone, scientists uncovered 27 new-to-science species, including four new mammals, during a two month expedition. Meanwhile, the Greater Mekong region yielded 234 new species, and scientists from the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species globally. The ocean depths continued to surprise, with more than 100 potentially new species found on an unexplored underwater mountain off Chile&#8217;s coast. Two new mammal species were found in India this year, including the world’s smallest otter. Scientists estimate only a small fraction of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented, perhaps 20% at best. Even among mammals, the best-known group of animals, researchers think we’ve only found 80% of species.  Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Members of Indigenous Awajun communities in Peru&#8217;s Alto Mayo assist scientists with their research, such as throwing cast nets to capture fish.  68 fish species were collected, including eight that are new to science. Photo courtesy of Trond Larsen/Conservation International. However, while species may be new to Western science, many have been well known to Indigenous peoples and local communities for generations. These communities often maintain sophisticated classification systems and deep ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/photos-top-new-species-from-2024/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-292398</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lesser noddy sighting stirs up birding community in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/lesser-noddy-sighting-stirs-up-birding-community-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/lesser-noddy-sighting-stirs-up-birding-community-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Nov 2024 06:48:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rafiqul Islam]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/05060331/lesser-noddies-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289679</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Birding, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Habitat, Marine, New Discovery, Oceans, Seabirds, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[On Sept. 7, 2024, British ornithologist Gary Allport and Dutch birdwatcher Jan-erik Nilsen took a boat from Bangladesh’s coastal district of Cox&#8217;s Bazar to Sonadia Island. On their way, while they observed a flock of terns feeding around a fishing boat, a lesser noddy (Anous tenuirostris) flew in, circled the boat twice, and then flew [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[On Sept. 7, 2024, British ornithologist Gary Allport and Dutch birdwatcher Jan-erik Nilsen took a boat from Bangladesh’s coastal district of Cox&#8217;s Bazar to Sonadia Island. On their way, while they observed a flock of terns feeding around a fishing boat, a lesser noddy (Anous tenuirostris) flew in, circled the boat twice, and then flew off, surprising them. This is the first time the seabird species was recorded in Bangladesh. “Fortunately, we got quick photos and then headed off to Sonadia. Once there, we saw another noddy very briefly, which we could not identify as the species for certain, but we assumed it was the same bird,” Allport said. Then they headed back to Cox&#8217;s Bazar. When they got to the lagoon by Cox’s Bazar airport, they saw two lesser noddies together. A close examination of the pictures showed that they were different individuals from the ones they saw first in the morning, so there were at least three birds. And it seemed likely that the bird at Sonadia was a fourth. “[A] lesser noddy first for Bangladesh — Boom! Great day out in a boat at the weekend from Cox&#8217;s Bazar to Sonadia area with good numbers of terns and waders. Nice start finding the first lesser noddy but then followed by two more, and probably a fourth bird too. Really super birding,” Allport wrote on his X handle after sighting the birds. Lesser noddies are generally a bird of the open seas, and there has been no record&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/11/lesser-noddy-sighting-stirs-up-birding-community-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289679</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Dream birds’ in the mist: First photo of ‘lost’ bird in DRC mountains</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/dream-birds-in-the-mist-first-photo-of-lost-bird-in-drc-mountains/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/dream-birds-in-the-mist-first-photo-of-lost-bird-in-drc-mountains/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Sep 2024 12:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/20124426/YCHE-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287629</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Congo Basin, Democratic Republic Of Congo, and East Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Extinction, Forests, Owls, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Michael Harvey recalls the moment he first saw a flock of yellow-crested helmetshrikes flitting through a cloud forest in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: the first confirmed sighting by scientists of the species in 16 years. “It was more bizarre and exciting than I could have imagined,” says Harvey, an ornithologist and assistant professor [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Michael Harvey recalls the moment he first saw a flock of yellow-crested helmetshrikes flitting through a cloud forest in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: the first confirmed sighting by scientists of the species in 16 years. “It was more bizarre and exciting than I could have imagined,” says Harvey, an ornithologist and assistant professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). In December 2023, he and a team of U.S. and DRC ornithologists and herpetologists trekked for weeks in cars, on motorbikes and on foot to reach the Itombwe massif, on the western edge of the Albertine Rift, a vast ecoregion of mountains, valleys and forests spanning five countries in East Africa. Harvey and a DRC assistant had left their camp to hike up a ridge to look for cloud forest birds. When they reached a fern meadow in a natural forest clearing, rain clouds swept in, and thick swirling mist reduced visibility to around 10 meters (33 feet). The first views of the high-elevation forests of Itombwe upon reaching the edge of intact forest. Image by Mike Harvey. “I’m in the meadow, and inside the cloud forest, I start hearing these wild, snapping sounds and squeals that sounded like wind-up toys,” Harvey says. “Then, out of this pea-soup fog, I see these jet-black shapes, almost blacker than black, starting to emerge in the fog, and I raise my binoculars and that’s when I can see these brilliant, bright, whitish-yellow crests on the birds, the yellow eyes,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/dream-birds-in-the-mist-first-photo-of-lost-bird-in-drc-mountains/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/dream-birds-in-the-mist-first-photo-of-lost-bird-in-drc-mountains/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287629</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Reintroduction project brings golden parakeets back to the skies of Brazil’s Belém</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/reintroduction-project-brings-golden-parakeets-back-to-the-skies-of-brazils-belem/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/reintroduction-project-brings-golden-parakeets-back-to-the-skies-of-brazils-belem/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Jun 2024 07:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Brown]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandre de Santi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/25174015/Parakeets-flying-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283657</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Brazil, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Deforestation, Drivers Of Deforestation, Environment, Governance, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After being locally extinct for a century in Belém, the host city of next year’s COP30 climate summit, it’s being reintroduced by conservationists who have so far released 50 individuals into the wild since 2018.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[BELÉM, Brazil — The golden parakeet is as noisy as it is brightly colored. Hanging from the branches above, three of these medium-sized parrots screech and squawk as they peer down to get a better look at biologist Marcelo Vilarta as he observes them. Also known as golden conures, they’re striking birds with their vibrant yellow plumage and green wingtips distinct against the Amazonian vegetation. Yet it’s these colors that have put their population at risk of extinction. The illegal pet trade, coupled with acute habitat loss, have reduced the population of golden parakeets (Guaruba guarouba) to fewer than 10,000 wild individuals — a tiny number for a large biome like the Brazilian Amazon, the only place on Earth where they’re natively found. They occur mostly in the state of Pará, with records also in the states of Maranhão and Amazonas. “There aren&#8217;t any other golden parakeets [naturally in the wild] in any other place in the world,” Vilarta tells Mongabay. He’s part of a golden parakeet reintroduction project supported by the Institute for Forest Development and Biodiversity (IDEFLOR-Bio), a Pará state agency, and the nonprofit Lymington Foundation. The program began in 2017, with the first flock of golden parakeets released into the wild in January 2018 in Utinga State Park in Belém, the capital of Pará and the host city of the COP30 climate summit in 2025. In Belém, the birds had been locally extinct for more than 100 years. The inquisitive golden parakeets watching Vilarta from the tree&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/reintroduction-project-brings-golden-parakeets-back-to-the-skies-of-brazils-belem/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283657</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Road paving in a Peruvian bird paradise threatens wildlife and ecotourism</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/road-paving-in-a-peruvian-bird-paradise-threatens-wildlife-and-ecotourism/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/road-paving-in-a-peruvian-bird-paradise-threatens-wildlife-and-ecotourism/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Mar 2024 12:48:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erik Iverson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Alexandra Popescu]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/19122758/Image1_ManuRoad-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280000</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Latin America, Peru, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Infrastructure, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Roadkill, Roads, Threats To Rainforests, Tropical Deforestation, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KOSÑIPATA, Peru – “It’s the best road I’ve ever gone birding on, in terms of the variety of habitats and birds,” says Victor Emanuel, one of the pioneers of modern bird-watching tourism and founder of an ecotourism company, about the Manu Road, which he calls “the most pristine and rich area that I’ve ever been [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KOSÑIPATA, Peru – “It’s the best road I’ve ever gone birding on, in terms of the variety of habitats and birds,” says Victor Emanuel, one of the pioneers of modern bird-watching tourism and founder of an ecotourism company, about the Manu Road, which he calls “the most pristine and rich area that I’ve ever been to in all my travels throughout the world.” With its harrowing turns and abrupt drops, the Manu Road passes through five different ecosystems, ranging from high-altitude grasslands to lowland rainforests, as it winds its way along the eastern boundary of Manu National Park in southeastern Peru. Traveling this road, which stretches 190 kilometers (118 miles) from Paucartambo in the highlands to the mouth of the Manu River in the lowlands, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many bird-watchers who come here for the rich biodiversity.     According to scientists, Manu National Park is probably the world’s most biodiverse protected area, counting at least 1,020 species of birds, 228 species of mammals, 287 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 1,108 tree species. A roller compacts the dirt surface in preparation for asphalting of the Manu Road in July 2023. Image courtesy of Erik Iverson. Until last year, people could stop at any point along this dirt road to look for rare species. Then, from May to September of 2023, authorities quickly paved the road, allowing for greater motor vehicle traffic. According to experts and locals, this development has now put the area’s wildlife, its ecotourism industry, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/road-paving-in-a-peruvian-bird-paradise-threatens-wildlife-and-ecotourism/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280000</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>We&#8217;re losing species faster than we can find them, study shows</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Feb 2024 19:47:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/29185128/Homepage-Banner-20221116_063335-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279240</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Herps, Mammals, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Reptiles, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, Tropics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[“We did it!” Doka Nason shouted as he stared at the screen of a camera trap in Papua New Guinea. He and his team had just captured a long-sought image: that of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis). Believed to be extinct, this rare ground-dwelling bird was photographed as part of the Search for Lost [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[“We did it!” Doka Nason shouted as he stared at the screen of a camera trap in Papua New Guinea. He and his team had just captured a long-sought image: that of the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis). Believed to be extinct, this rare ground-dwelling bird was photographed as part of the Search for Lost Species program. Scientists hadn’t seen one in the wild for 140 years. Lost species are those that haven’t been observed by scientists in their natural habitat for at least a decade. Yet most have been missing for around 50 years on average, according to a new study in the journal Global Change Biology. Researchers compiled a database of 856 lost and 424 rediscovered amphibian, bird, mammal and reptile species (known collectively as tetrapods) listed since 1800. As the number of lost species globally continues to rise, they’re being lost faster than they’re being found. “The number of lost tetrapod species is increasing decade on decade,” said Thomas Evans, a conservation scientist at the Free University of Berlin and lead author of the paper. &#8220;This means that despite many searches, we are losing tetrapod species at a faster rate than we are rediscovering them.” The results highlight differences in which lost species are more likely to be found again based on location and type of animal. Sometimes, their natural traits like nocturnality or living underground make them difficult to find. Larger animals and those that can live in multiple habitats are more likely to be found again.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/were-losing-species-faster-than-we-can-find-them-study-shows/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279240</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Photos: Top species discoveries from 2023</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Dec 2023 15:36:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/12/27150956/chameleon-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=277110</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Australia, Brunei, Ecuador, Global, India, Japan, Madagascar, Pacific Ocean, Panama, Peru, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists named hundreds of new to science species this year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squids, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons. These newly uncovered creatures give us just a glimpse into the immense biodiversity yet to be found across the planet. “I think most people believe that we know most species [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists named hundreds of new to science species this year, including an electric blue tarantula, two pygmy squids, a silent frog, and some thumb-sized chameleons. These newly uncovered creatures give us just a glimpse into the immense biodiversity yet to be found across the planet. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case scenario, we know 20% of Earth’s species,” Mario Moura, a professor at the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil, told Mongabay in a March 2021 interview. Experts estimate only 10-20% of Earth&#8217;s species have been documented by Western science. This year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 153 new plant, animal and fungi species. Since 2020 alone, researchers have classified 100,000 new plant and fungus species. However, at this pace, researchers say documenting all life could take centuries, and many species may go extinct before they’re even named. More than a million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, suggests the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as vulnerable or critically endangered with extinction as soon as they’re found. “There is something immensely unethical and troubling about humans driving species extinct without ever even having appreciated their existence and given them consideration,” Walter Jetz, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Yale University, told Mongabay, It’s important to note that although a species may be newly described by science, Indigenous people&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/photos-top-species-discoveries-from-2023/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-277110</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>New AI model gives bird’s-eye view of avian distribution at vast scale</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-ai-model-gives-birds-eye-view-of-avian-distribution-at-vast-scale/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-ai-model-gives-birds-eye-view-of-avian-distribution-at-vast-scale/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Nov 2023 14:47:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/11/08142524/32212522552_0d3c8207e4_o-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=275154</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Artificial Intelligence, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Technology, data, Research, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife conservation actions tend to be focused in specific locations because the data that inform them also tend to be highly localized. But what if we could visualize where a species, or several, will be at any given time of the year, across vast — even continental — scales? An artificial intelligence model developed by [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wildlife conservation actions tend to be focused in specific locations because the data that inform them also tend to be highly localized. But what if we could visualize where a species, or several, will be at any given time of the year, across vast — even continental — scales? An artificial intelligence model developed by researchers at Cornell University hopes to do just that, showing it can deliver estimates of when and where birds occur across North America. It can also give information on how different species of birds interact with each other and the environment. “We can look not only at individual species but across entire communities, and pull in all sorts of information about what might be driving those species to occur there,” Courtney Davis, a research associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, told Mongabay in a video interview. “This has the potential to provide really high-resolution information to folks on the ground who are leading conservation, management and decision-making about biodiversity.” In a study she co-authored and published in the journal Ecology, Davis details how researchers used billions of data points on bird sightings gathered by citizen scientists and birders, along with ecological data, to train the model. With the help of “large observational and environmental data sets,” the team of researchers demonstrated how they estimated “landscape-scale species diversity and composition at continental extents.” American oystercatchers and chick on Fort Tilden Beach, New York. An artificial intelligence model developed by researchers at Cornell University hopes to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-ai-model-gives-birds-eye-view-of-avian-distribution-at-vast-scale/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/new-ai-model-gives-birds-eye-view-of-avian-distribution-at-vast-scale/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-275154</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bangladesh’s ‘bird restaurant’ serves up snacks with a side of conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/bangladeshs-bird-restaurant-serves-up-snacks-with-a-side-of-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/bangladeshs-bird-restaurant-serves-up-snacks-with-a-side-of-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2023 12:41:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mohammad Al-Masum Molla]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/06/22123705/mynas-on-a-wire-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270118</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Cities, Conservation, Environment, urban ecology, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA — It was a misty winter morning in February 2012. Shomour Kumar Ghosh started out his day by opening his sweetmeat shop in the district of Pabna in western Bangladesh and sitting in a chair to catch the sun’s warmth. He then noticed a flock of mynas, known locally as shalikh, gathered in front [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DHAKA — It was a misty winter morning in February 2012. Shomour Kumar Ghosh started out his day by opening his sweetmeat shop in the district of Pabna in western Bangladesh and sitting in a chair to catch the sun’s warmth. He then noticed a flock of mynas, known locally as shalikh, gathered in front of his shop, apparently looking for food. Out of curiosity and love for animals, the 50-year-old scattered a handful of chanachur — a mix of fried lentils, peanuts, chickpeas and more, often known as Bombay mix — to the birds. They ate the offering and flew away. What happened the next day was beyond anything Ghosh could have imagined. “I was surprised the next day when I saw nearly 100 shalikh birds coming in front of my shop around the same time. I gave away food to them and the number continues to rise,” Ghosh told Mongabay over the phone. It was the dead of winter here, and the crop fields that the birds usually flock to for feeding were barren. As a result, the birds were now frequenting urban areas in search of food. “The surprising fact is that the shalikhs come and take food and then left without making any sound,” Ghosh said. Shomour Kumar Ghosh has fed the mynas outside his shop every day since 2012. Image by Sharon Kumar Ghosh. He gradually he fell in love with the birds, he said, and decided to have his breakfast along with them in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/bangladeshs-bird-restaurant-serves-up-snacks-with-a-side-of-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/bangladeshs-bird-restaurant-serves-up-snacks-with-a-side-of-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-270118</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Jashodhon Pramanik: The farmer guardian of birds in Bangladesh</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/jashodhon-pramanik-the-farmer-guardian-of-birds-in-bangladesh/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/jashodhon-pramanik-the-farmer-guardian-of-birds-in-bangladesh/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Mar 2023 10:03:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Maksuda Aziz]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abu Siddique]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/30062537/Jashodhon-Pramanik-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266954</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Bangladesh, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Conservation leadership, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Governance, Protected Areas, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Mr. Sobhan, a wealthy retired lawyer, decides he wants to do something to improve society. Realizing that the new aquaculture revolution has driven out local fish species, he compiles a list of species that are causing harm and goes to the appropriate government agency to voice his concern. Sadly, the officer makes fun of him [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Mr. Sobhan, a wealthy retired lawyer, decides he wants to do something to improve society. Realizing that the new aquaculture revolution has driven out local fish species, he compiles a list of species that are causing harm and goes to the appropriate government agency to voice his concern. Sadly, the officer makes fun of him and rejects his proposal. Mr. Sobhan is a character in “Bohubrihi,” a celebrated novel and television drama created by Bengali novelist and playwright Humayun Ahmed. Mr. Sobhan’s exchange with the authorities is one of many interesting subplots in the story. In the end, Mr. Sobhan loses all hope and says,  &#8220;Nothing will happen to this country.&#8221; Mr. Sobhan may have lost all hope in a fictional world, but Jashodhon Pramanik, a real human being, did not. At the turn of the century, Jashodhon, a farmer from Natore, in northern Bangladesh, began to take steps to protect birds from being hunted, caught and eaten. After 23 years of diligent work, he has been successful at persuading the government to ban the use of air guns to hunt birds, which counts as a major step in bird protection in the country. In addition, over the years, he got the government to start more than 75 activities to protect birds. He also initiated a one-man program named Pokkhikuler Asroy O Khaddo Nischitkaron Prokolpo, which translates to “Project for Ensuring Food and Shelter for Birds,” which influenced the government to initiate more than 30 decisions to protect birds. Jashodhon&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/jashodhon-pramanik-the-farmer-guardian-of-birds-in-bangladesh/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/jashodhon-pramanik-the-farmer-guardian-of-birds-in-bangladesh/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266954</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lost bird found: Dusky tetraka seen in Madagascar after 24-year absence</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Mar 2023 17:47:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07110758/Dusky-Tetraka-3_JCM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266198</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Madagascar, and Tropics]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Climate Change, Conservation, Deforestation, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Freshwater, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Islands, Protected Areas, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After 24 years of eluding ornithologists, a small, ground-hopping songbird known only from the tropical forests of northeastern Madagascar has been spotted by researchers once again. The dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) was last seen in 1999, and the research team, led by the Peregrine Fund&#8217;s Madagascar program, started its search from the location of this [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After 24 years of eluding ornithologists, a small, ground-hopping songbird known only from the tropical forests of northeastern Madagascar has been spotted by researchers once again. The dusky tetraka (Xanthomixis tenebrosa) was last seen in 1999, and the research team, led by the Peregrine Fund&#8217;s Madagascar program, started its search from the location of this last sighting. After a 40-hour drive and half-day hike up a steep mountainside, they found that much of the forest had been converted to vanilla farms, despite its protected status. They spent five more days searching at higher elevations before heading downhill. Eight days into the expedition, on Jan. 1, John C. Mittermeier, director of the Lost Birds program at the American Bird Conservancy, saw an olive and yellow-throated bird in dense undergrowth near the river. He took a photo and showed the team, who agreed it looked like a dusky tetraka. The next day, the team caught a bird to take measurements and a closer look before releasing it safely back into the wild. “Seeing the bird for the first time was truly a surprise,” said Armand Benjara, the Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar program leader. “Our entire team was extremely happy and excited.” https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07111429/Dusky-Tetraka-2-edit.mp4 A dusky tetraka&#8217;s call. Image and audio by John C. Mittermeier. The expedition team with The Peregrine Fund&#8217;s Madagascar Program that rediscovered the dusky tetraka in two different locations. Photo by John C. Mittermeier. The team found birds in two locations: on the Masoala Peninsula and near Andapa. The birds were&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/lost-bird-found-dusky-tetraka-seen-in-madagascar-after-24-year-absence/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/03/07111429/Dusky-Tetraka-2-edit.mp4" length="3352602" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-266198</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bird strike warnings resurface amid probe into deadly Nepal plane crash</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/bird-strike-warnings-resurface-amid-probe-into-deadly-nepal-plane-crash/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/bird-strike-warnings-resurface-amid-probe-into-deadly-nepal-plane-crash/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Jan 2023 12:20:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/04122406/pokhara-airport-Nepal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264697</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Infrastructure, Raptors, and Transportation]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — On the morning of Jan. 16, the day after Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal, killing all 72 people on board, authorities at the newly inaugurated airport were alarmed by yet another incident. A plane plying the same Kathmandu-Pokhara route as the ill-fated Flight 691 struck a steppe [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — On the morning of Jan. 16, the day after Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed near Pokhara International Airport in Nepal, killing all 72 people on board, authorities at the newly inaugurated airport were alarmed by yet another incident. A plane plying the same Kathmandu-Pokhara route as the ill-fated Flight 691 struck a steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) upon approach to the airport. The plane didn’t suffer major damage, but the endangered bird of prey was killed. Following the incident, a team from the airport quickly cleared the debris from the runway, according to a photographer who witnessed the incident and shared the photos online. Pokhara Airport officials cleaning the runway after a steppe eagle hit an aircraft on Jan. 16. The incident came as various international experts suggest a possible link between the Jan. 15 crash, one of the worst in Nepal’s aviation history, and the possibility of a bird strike. Mongabay reported last year about conservationists’ concerns over the large number of birds, especially vultures, that frequent the area near the airport, and the risks posed to both aviation safety and wildlife conservation. “The crash took place after the pilot decided to approach the [north]east-[south]west runway from the western side after making all preparations to land from the eastern side,” a Kathmandu-based pilot told Mongabay. “Landing from the western end at the new airport requires technical expertise which the pilot may not have had,” the captain said. “We don’t know why they decided to change the approach at&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/bird-strike-warnings-resurface-amid-probe-into-deadly-nepal-plane-crash/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/bird-strike-warnings-resurface-amid-probe-into-deadly-nepal-plane-crash/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264697</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Top 15 species discoveries from 2022 (Photos)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Dec 2022 17:52:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/03/11184718/FISHCirrhilabrus-finifenmaa_4%C2%A9-Yi-Kai-Tea-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264198</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Cameroon, Central America, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Global, Guinea, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latin America, Madagascar, Maldives, Pacific Ocean, Panama, Peru, South America, Southeast Asia, and Thailand]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Botany, Charismatic Animals, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Cryptic Species, Culture, Deforestation, DNA, Ecosystems, Endangered Species, Endangered Species Act, Environment, Flowers, Forests, Global Environmental Crisis, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Herps, Insects, Islands, Lizards, Mammals, Marine, Marine Animals, Marine Conservation, New Discovery, Oceans, Oil Drilling, Owls, Plants, Rainforests, Reptiles, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Shipping, Snakes, Solutions, Species Discovery, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula,  an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world&#8217;s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022. In this well-trodden world, finding a new species is a glimpse of the uncharted riches of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula,  an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world&#8217;s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022. In this well-trodden world, finding a new species is a glimpse of the uncharted riches of biodiversity still hidden around the globe. Scientists estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Even among the most well-known group of animals, mammals, scientists think we have only found 80% of species. Most of these hidden species are likely bats, rodents, shrews, moles, and hedgehogs. “Based on our analysis, a conservative estimate would be that there are hundreds of species of mammals worldwide that have yet to be identified,” Bryan Carstens, a professor at The Ohio State University, told Mongabay. This year, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences named 146 new species, including “44 lizards, 30 ants, 14 sea slugs, 14 flowering plants, 13 sea stars, seven fishes, four beetles, four sharks, three moths, three worms, two scorpions, two spiders, two lichens, one toad, one clam, one aphid, and one sea biscuit.” Around 2,000 new species of plants and fungi are found each year, according to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew). These are potential sources of food, medicines, and other solutions. Unfortunately, many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction. “There is something immensely unethical and troubling&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/top-15-species-discoveries-from-2022-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-264198</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In PNG, researchers find a large pigeon lost to science for 140 years</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 Nov 2022 17:10:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20214515/IMG_0027-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=262790</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Papua New Guinea]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[After 140 years, a pigeon subspecies lost to science has been found again on Fergusson Island off eastern Papua New Guinea. Using a remote camera trap, researchers photographed the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis), a large, ground-dwelling bird, for the first time since it was described in 1883. “After a month of searching, seeing those [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[After 140 years, a pigeon subspecies lost to science has been found again on Fergusson Island off eastern Papua New Guinea. Using a remote camera trap, researchers photographed the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis), a large, ground-dwelling bird, for the first time since it was described in 1883. “After a month of searching, seeing those first photos of the pheasant-pigeon felt like finding a unicorn,” said John C. Mittermeier, director of the lost birds program at the American Bird Conservancy and co-leader of the expedition. “It is the kind of moment you dream about your entire life as a conservationist and bird-watcher.” https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20214804/pigeonvid-1.mp4 &nbsp; A black-naped pheasant-pigeon caught on camera. Video: Jason Gregg / American Bird Conservancy In September 2022, the expedition team, which included local Papua New Guineans working with Papua New Guinea National Museum, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy, spent a month interviewing locals and finding promising locations to install their hidden camera traps. Fergusson Island’s steep, mountainous terrain and dense forests added to the challenge. “It wasn’t until we reached villages on the western slope of Mt. Kilkerran that we started meeting hunters who had seen and heard the pheasant-pigeon,” Jason Gregg, conservation biologist and a co-leader of the expedition team, said in a statement. “We became more confident about the local name of the bird, which is ‘Auwo,’ and felt like we were getting closer to the core habitat of where the black-naped pheasant-pigeon lives.” A local hunter, Augustin Gregory, told the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/11/in-png-researchers-find-a-large-pigeon-lost-to-science-for-140-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/11/20214804/pigeonvid-1.mp4" length="3202640" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-262790</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Raising awareness one bird post at a time: Q&#038;A with Burungnesia’s Swiss Winasis</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/raising-awareness-one-bird-post-at-a-time-qa-with-burungnesias-swiss-winasis/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/raising-awareness-one-bird-post-at-a-time-qa-with-burungnesias-swiss-winasis/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>06 Sep 2022 02:08:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sachi Kondo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Philip Jacobson]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/09/02144741/owl-in-yogyakarta-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259893</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The biodiversity crisis is driving the disappearance of birds from the wild, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Indonesia, a global hotspot of avian life. That’s why Swiss Winasis, the founder of crowdsourcing platform Burungnesia, says collecting accurate data on rare birds for conservation is vital. Run by a team of four, Burungnesia [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The biodiversity crisis is driving the disappearance of birds from the wild, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Indonesia, a global hotspot of avian life. That’s why Swiss Winasis, the founder of crowdsourcing platform Burungnesia, says collecting accurate data on rare birds for conservation is vital. Run by a team of four, Burungnesia was launched in 2016 to gather digital data and information from bird-watchers across Indonesia. The app allows users to record bird sightings in the wild, mobilizing the power of citizen science for bird conservation. Currently available for Android users, Burungnesia has also grown into a platform for discovery and learning. Through the app, anyone can view and identify birds endemic to Indonesia. Conservation records in the country, Swiss says, are often limited, inaccessible, or damaged, so the app strives to let users record findings with ease. Swiss hails from Malang, a city in East Java province. It was while studying wildlife and forest conservation at a public university in Yogyakarta that he “got introduced to birds” by fellow students and became immersed in the bird-watching community. The differences in his observations from the early 2000s and now are jarring, he says, but there are small victories to celebrate. The team has observed an interest in bird-watching among people outside the community since Burungnesia&#8217;s conception. More people are playing a role in bird monitoring and conservation, Swiss says, even just by sharing real-time findings on social media platforms. Swiss Winasis, the founder of crowdsourcing platform Burungnesia,&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/raising-awareness-one-bird-post-at-a-time-qa-with-burungnesias-swiss-winasis/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259893</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>No time to keep vultures out of danger as new Nepal airport set to open</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/no-time-to-keep-vultures-out-of-danger-as-new-nepal-airport-set-to-open/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/no-time-to-keep-vultures-out-of-danger-as-new-nepal-airport-set-to-open/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Aug 2022 14:51:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/26143849/vulture-2-1-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259627</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Development, Endangered Species, Environment, Habitat Loss, Infrastructure, Mountains, Raptors, Tourism, and Vultures]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Conservationists in Nepal have expressed concern over the opening of a new airport in the tourist town of Pokhara, renowned as a bird paradise, at the start of next year. The opening of the $216 million facility has been delayed several times already. In the latest announcement, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the minister for [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Conservationists in Nepal have expressed concern over the opening of a new airport in the tourist town of Pokhara, renowned as a bird paradise, at the start of next year. The opening of the $216 million facility has been delayed several times already. In the latest announcement, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the minister for culture and aviation, said flights will start from Jan. 1, 2023. However, a key issue raised by conservationists has yet to be resolved. A landfill site close to the airport, which draws several threatened species of vultures, has not yet been relocated, posing a high risk of aircraft-bird collisions once the airport goes into operation. Bikram Bikram Raj Gautam, head of the Pokhara office of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), confirmed the new opening date and acknowledged the landfill matter: “We are hopeful that the local municipal officials will move the landfill site soon,” he said. The Pokhara Valley is home to 470 species of birds and all nine species of vultures found in South Asia, including the critically endangered slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) and white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis). The area also falls on the migration route of the endangered steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis). The birds are accustomed to feeding at the landfill site, which means they’ll keep coming to the area for months or even years after the waste is relocated elsewhere, conservationists say. During this period, the risk of aircraft-bird collisions will remain high, they add. “The Bachchebaduwa landfill site located&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/no-time-to-keep-vultures-out-of-danger-as-new-nepal-airport-set-to-open/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259627</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>An emerald-green hummingbird lost to science reemerges in Colombia</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Aug 2022 20:36:03 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Liz Kimbrough]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/08/16195237/Web-Size-Campylopterus_1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=259294</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Colombia, Latin America, and South America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Forests, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Rainforests, Rediscovered Species, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. &#8220;This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. &#8220;This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only the second time the critically endangered hummingbird has had a documented sighting since 1946. The last bird was spotted in 2010. &#8220;It’s like seeing a phantom,” said John C. Mittermeier, director of threatened species outreach at the American Bird Conservancy. A single male Santa Marta sawbrewing was spotted and photographed for the first time in ten years. Photo by Yurgen Vega/SELVA/ProCAT via Re:wild. Vega who found the bird while working with the conservation organizations Selva, ProCAT Colombia and the World Parrot Trust to survey endemic birds in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, spotted the male Santa Marta sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus) and identified it on sight by its green feathers, iridescent blue throat and black curved bill. “When I first saw the hummingbird I immediately thought of the Santa Marta sabrewing. I couldn’t believe it was waiting there for me to take out my camera and start shooting,” Vega told The Guardian. “I was almost convinced it was the species, but because I felt so overcome by emotion, I preferred to be cautious; it could’ve been the Lazuline sabrewing [Campylopterus falcatus], which is often confused with Santa Marta sabrewing. But once we saw the pictures, we knew it was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/an-emerald-green-hummingbird-lost-to-science-reemerges-in-colombia/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-259294</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Winter sanctuary in Nepal proves a killing field for yellow-breasted buntings</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/winter-sanctuary-in-nepal-proves-a-killing-field-for-yellow-breasted-buntings/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/winter-sanctuary-in-nepal-proves-a-killing-field-for-yellow-breasted-buntings/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Jun 2022 01:50:19 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Hayat Indriyatno]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/06/21144833/1280px-Yellow-breasted_bunting_in_Nepal_02-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=257559</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, China, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Farming, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, and Meat]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Ornithologist Hem Bahadur Katwal, who studies farmland birds, says he’s excited about an upcoming trip to visit Nepal’s plains when the monsoon rains end in September. This is the time when the cold starts creeping in over the lands farther north — Russia, Mongolia, China — and thousands of migratory birds flock to [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — Ornithologist Hem Bahadur Katwal, who studies farmland birds, says he’s excited about an upcoming trip to visit Nepal’s plains when the monsoon rains end in September. This is the time when the cold starts creeping in over the lands farther north — Russia, Mongolia, China — and thousands of migratory birds flock to warmer Nepal. Although he says the sight of these visiting birds elates him, Katwal adds he feels sad deep down as many of the birds may never get to return to their homes. &#8220;Every time we go to the field in winter, we encounter eateries selling &#8216;delicacies&#8217; made of meat from farm birds,&#8221; he says. &#8220;They are sold as bagedi meat” — or yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola). The menus on display are particularly disheartening, says Katwal, who has closely observed both international and national efforts to save this species that’s on the verge of extinction. Once common across the Northern Hemisphere, the yellow-breasted bunting is now a rare sight in its range countries as well as on its migratory routes, including in Nepal. Until 2004, the bird was listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. Just eight years later, however, its conservation status worsened, to endangered, and today it’s considered critically endangered. Various studies show that both their population and range are declining fast. According to BirdLife International, the species’ population is estimated to have declined by 84.3-94.7% between 1980 and 2013. BirdLife says it believes that although the decline&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/winter-sanctuary-in-nepal-proves-a-killing-field-for-yellow-breasted-buntings/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-257559</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Big Apple birding is set to take flight: Here&#8217;s how to get started this Spring</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/big-apple-birding-is-set-to-take-flight-heres-how-to-get-started-this-spring/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/big-apple-birding-is-set-to-take-flight-heres-how-to-get-started-this-spring/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Apr 2022 14:12:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Alice Yan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/04/08141831/8-Secrets-of-Central-Park-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=254647</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[New York and North America]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birding, Birds, Conservation, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, and urban ecology]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Rochelle Thomas is president of the Linnaean Society of New York and former membership director of the Wild Bird Fund, and she coordinates multiple bird watching or ‘birding’ groups in NYC. As peak Big Apple birding is about to kick off in mid April, she spoke with Mongabay over breakfast at a busy Manhattan café, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Rochelle Thomas is president of the Linnaean Society of New York and former membership director of the Wild Bird Fund, and she coordinates multiple bird watching or ‘birding’ groups in NYC. As peak Big Apple birding is about to kick off in mid April, she spoke with Mongabay over breakfast at a busy Manhattan café, after her weekly birding excursion at Central Park and before she travelled to her day job as strategy director at Columbia University’s Teachers College. An edited version of our conversation follows. Mongabay: Why are people fascinated by birds? Rochelle Thomas: They can fly. It is everyone’s fantasy to fly. Birds are often fast moving – neither here nor there – and you only have a moment to glimpse them. They are also very accessible. There are roughly 5,500 species of mammals and more than 10,000 species of birds. The likelihood of encountering a bird is far higher, so it is easier to see and learn more about them. Rochelle Thomas (in pink) with a group of bird watchers. Image courtesy of Sara Kross. Birding became more popular in New York City during the pandemic. It helped relieve loneliness – it helped people feel like a part of the fabric of the universe. It was about connecting to something bigger. Mongabay: Tell me about how you got into birding? Rochelle Thomas: In 2010, I went to Costa Rica and one of my nature guides happened to be a man named Manolo, who was a really good&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/big-apple-birding-is-set-to-take-flight-heres-how-to-get-started-this-spring/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-254647</doi>				</item>
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