Researchers discover that 1,430 bird species have been wiped out since the arrival of Homo Sapiens. A startup is working to breathe life into clones.

Humans are directly or indirectly responsible for the disappearance of 1,430 bird species on Earth - an astonishing 12% or one in nine bird species - which is double the current estimate.

According to a new study, published recently in the journal Nature Communications, the human-induced deforestation, excessive hunting, and the breeding of invasive species are the main causes of the mass extinction of bird species. 

The research, conducted by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) suggests that the number of species wiped out during the modern human history is greater, because many bird species have passed unknown since the Late Pleistocene 120,000 or 130,000 years ago.

The records of the demise of some birds exists since the 1500s, while for the fate of species before that time, science relies on fossils and other sorts of evidence. And yet these records are limited, because the lightweight bones of birds disintegrate over time, concealing the true extent of global extinctions, experts say.

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Dodo, for example, a 10-17-kilogram, 65-70-centimeter-tall bird, was last seen in 1662 on the Mauritius Island and is believed to have gone extinct almost 20 years later. Its closes relatives - Reunion solitaire and Rodrigues solitaire - were lost in 1746 and 1790, respectively. 

A Dodo bird skeleton and a stuffed Dodo exibited in museums.

  

An earlier study by the same team found that the world is at risk of losing another 669 to 738 bird species over the next few hundred years, due to increasing pressure from the climate change, scarce food supply and loss of forests. 

Rob Cooke, the lead author, says the study demonstrates there has been a far higher human impact on avian diversity than previously recognized. Without doubt, this is the largest vertebrate extinction in history caused by people, he stressed.

Loss of birds harms the environment

The findings also reveal that the world may not only have lost many fascinating birds but also their varied ecological roles, included key functions such as seed dispersal and pollination, with major implications for the current biodiversity crisis and cascading effects on ecosystems.

Lots of plants have vanished too as a result of the mass extinction of birds.

“Humans have rapidly devastated bird populations via habitat loss, overexploitation and the introduction of rats, pigs and dogs that raided nests of birds and competed with them for food. We show that many species became extinct before written records and left no trace, lost from history,” says Spren Faurby of the University of Gothenburg, a co-author of the study.

On some islands, there’s a 100% of loss of bird populations, with many of species there never existing in other parts of the planet.

The study documented the disappearance of 1,430 species as a result of human activity and its authors admit that the true number is almost 11,000. Only around 50 bird species could have died out naturally, to have the whole picture.

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A BirdLife International analysis warns that another 10,000 bird species are classified as endangered. Recent conservation efforts have saved some species, but the rescue pace is too slow. 

Resurrecting Dodo?

Interestingly, an American de-extinction startup known for its plans to resurrect the mammoth and Tasmanian tiger announced last January it will also bring back the Dodo.

Colossal Biosciences, established in 2021 by tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard University geneticist George Church, is funded with venture capital and early in 2023 it received 150 million dollars in investment to bring back the iconic flightless bird to life.