Around 30 percent of all birds of prey worldwide are threatened – 166 of the total of 557 species. Most of the bird of prey species can only be found in one country and therefore have a limited range, according to Mexican scientists in the trade magazine PNAS.
Birds of prey are commonly referred to as birds with strong, curved bills and sharp claws; they are often equated with birds of prey (Accipitriformes). But also falcon-like (Falconiformes) and owls (Strigiformes) are birds of prey. In many cultures, the symbolic animals adorn coats of arms or coins, such as the federal eagle, the national coat of arms of Germany, or the bald eagle that of the USA.
The 557 bird of prey species make up around five percent of all bird species worldwide. A little more than half of them hunt during the day, the rest go in search of prey at night. The largest representative is the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) with a weight of 15 kilograms, the smallest bird of prey in the world weighs just 40 grams: the finch falcon (Microhierax fringillarius) native to Southeast Asia.
Like many other animals, humans are primarily a problem for birds of prey, especially by destroying habitats and polluting the environment with pollutants. Deforestation has led to a rapid population decline in the world’s largest eagle, the Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi), say the scientists working with Carlos Cruz from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. In Asia, many vultures suffered from the spread of the painkiller diclofenac used in animal husbandry, which they ingest when they eat carrion.
Some owls have a habitat of only 16 square kilometers
A total of 18 species are threatened with extinction, 25 endangered, 57 endangered and 66 potentially endangered, according to the analysis of data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Birdlife International. The distribution area of individual species ranges from 195 million square kilometers for the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) to a narrow 16 square kilometers for the owl Otus feae, which occurs only on the island of Annobón, which belongs to Equatorial Guinea.
The scientists report that there is the greatest biodiversity in the South American Andes, the Himalayas and the Indomalayan regions as well as on some Pacific islands. Only a few species lived at the poles and in the arid and temperate zones of both hemispheres. Indonesia is therefore the country with the most different bird of prey species.
As part of their study, the researchers modeled on the computer which protective measures work best in which regions and how the costs are to be assessed in relation to the benefits. “Our results suggest that focusing on protection measures in existing protected areas seems politically and economically feasible than creating new protected areas,” they write. This is particularly true in countries where the resources for conserving biological diversity are limited.
“The fate of all birds of prey in particular and biodiversity in general will depend on our protective measures over the next two decades,” the scientists write. “Our study is an example of what can be done. But time is running out to save the planet’s biodiversity and prevent civilization from collapsing.”