The Slender-billed Curlew has disappeared for good, the first extinction of a continental bird species in Europe, study finds

This disappearance “could usher in a long macabre series if we do not act”, warns Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League for the Protection of Birds.

No one will see this bird with its light plumage and long, thin, curved beak fly anymore. A scientific study, published in the ornithology journal Ibisconfirms the disappearance of the slender-billed curlew, a migratory bird which had not been observed for more than 25 years. “This is the first time that a continental bird species has become extinct in Europe”warns the Bird Protection League (LPO) in a press release, Thursday, November 21.

“There is a 96% probability that the Slender-billed Curlew no longer exists”explain the researchers who worked on this study, published Sunday. This figure is enough to classify the species as “extinct”according to the guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they explain.

The Slender-billed Curlew was once widespread in wetlands of Europe and Central Asia. It nested in Siberia and Finland before wintering on the Mediterranean coasts. The most recent indisputable observation dates back to 1995, in Morocco, according to this study. In France, the last report was made by the LPO in 1968 in the bay of Aiguillon, in Vendée, specifies the association.

Of the nine species of curlew, two are now extinct: the slender-billed curlew and its American cousin, the Eskimo curlew.which has not been seen since 1987. Other species of the same family are also threatened. In August, the French Ministry of Ecological Transition renewed the suspension of Eurasian curlew hunting until July 30, 2025. This species has seen its numbers halve since 1980, according to the LPO.

“It is crucial to understand the importance of the alarm signal represented by the extinction of the slender-billed curlew, because it could usher in a long series of macabre events if we do not act”alerts Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the LPO. Next on the list? “Animals that were once common like sparrows, swallows and hedgehogs are now seeing their populations collapse”warns the biodiversity specialist.