Decline in common birds may signal biodiversity crisis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many of the world's most common birds suffered steep population drops over recent decades, a sign of a deteriorating global environment and a biodiversity crisis, BirdLife International said on Monday.

"Birds provide an accurate and easy-to-read environmental barometer, allowing us to see clearly the pressures our current way of life are putting on the world's biodiversity," said Mike Rands, chief executive of the alliance of conservation groups.

Threats to bird populations include intensified industrial-scale agriculture and fishing, the spread of invasive species, logging and the replacement of natural forest with monoculture plantations, the group said in a report released in Buenos Aires.

However, Rands said that over the long term, climate change may pose the most serious stress on birds.

Regarding specific regions of the world, BirdLife said:

-- in Europe, 45 percent of common birds are declining;

-- in Australia, resident wading birds have seen population losses of 81 percent in the last quarter century;

-- in North America, 20 common birds' populations have been halved over the last 40 years;

-- in Latin America, the once-common yellow cardinal is now classified as globally endangered;  Continued...