Songbirds - Artensterben

Tokara-Laubsänger / Tokara leaf warbler (Phylloscopus tokaraensis)

A singing male Tokara leaf warbler (Phylloscopus tokaraensis). The species is restricted to a few islands of Japan's Tokara Archipelago south of Kyushu. Such island endemics often occupy only very small habitats and are therefore especially vulnerable to environmental change. Image: Per Alström, Uppsala University, CC BY, via EurekAlert!

28. April 2026 Doreen Fräßdorf

Hidden diversity: Four newly recognized bird species from 2026

Even today, new bird species are still being discovered and described, although birds are among the comparatively well-studied animal groups. In many cases, however, these are not completely unknown animals, but species that were overlooked or misclassified for a long time. Only modern methods such as genetic analyses and bioacoustic

Der Sulu-Raupenfänger galt lange Zeit als Unterart des Bindenraupenfängers (Bild).

For a long time, the Sulu cuckooshrike (Coracina guillemardi) was treated as a subspecies of the much more widespread bar-bellied cuckooshrike (Coracina striata, shown here) because of morphological similarities. (© Coracina striata (Boddaert, 1783), Observed in Philippines by dmalerta, CC BY-NC 4.0, via GBIF)

20. March 2026 Doreen Fräßdorf

Chance discovery in the Sulu Archipelago: Long lost cuckooshrike documented after nearly 20 years

In November 2025, the Sulu cuckooshrike (Coracina guillemardi) was documented again for the first time in almost two decades in the remote forests of Tawi-Tawi in the Sulu Archipelago in the southwest of the Philippines. The species was considered lost—not officially extinct, but without any confirmed records for years. The

rediscovery of the rusty bush lark (Calendulauda rufa)

The image shows the rusty bush lark rediscovered in early February 2026 — one of the first photographs of the species ever taken. (© Pierre Defos du Rau, Idriss Dapsia, Julien Birard)

12. February 2026 Doreen Fräßdorf

Rediscovery in Africa: rusty bush lark documented for the first time in 94 years

Africa: A bird species that has so far been little studied and had been considered missing for almost a century has now been rediscovered. In early February 2026, the rusty bush lark (Calendulauda rufa) was recorded alive again in Chad for the first time in decades. The rusty bush lark

rediscovered in Peru: Sira barbet and Peruvian solitaire

The Sira barbet, which had not been documented for twelve years, was tracked down during an expedition in July 2024. Its striking red breast band and contrasting plumage make it an unmistakable inhabitant of Peru’s Sira Mountains. (© Michael G. Harvey/Cornell University, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

6. February 2025 Doreen Fräßdorf

Two lost birds rediscovered in Peru: Sira barbet and Peruvian solitaire

The Search for Lost Birds project has set itself the task of tracking down “lost” bird species that have not been documented in the wild for more than a decade. These species—without recent genetic or photographic evidence and without ex situ populations—are often considered lost to science. According to a

A taxidermied huia pair (female right, male left) at the Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum. This specimen is not up for auction. (© Dr Mirko Junge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

15. September 2024 Doreen Fräßdorf

Taxidermied Huia Pair Expected to Fetch Up to NZ$128,000 at London Auction

A rare taxidermied pair of huia birds could fetch up to NZ$128,000 at an auction in London. Organized by Roseberys London, the auction is scheduled for October 2024. The huia pair, consisting of a male and a female, dates back to the late 19th century and is considered extremely rare.

The flightless Lyall's wren was a relatively small bird, with a total length of about ten centimeters. (© Avenue, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons)

8. September 2024 Doreen Fräßdorf

Lyall’s wren

The tragic story of Lyall’s wren Like the dodo, Lyall’s wren is one of the best-known examples of the extinction of bird species, because the circumstances of its disappearance are as striking as they are tragic. The story of Lyall’s wren is often told with dramatic simplicity: a cat, brought

Mussauraupenfänger nach 44 Jahren wiederentdeckt

The Mussau caterpillarcatcher, considered missing since 1979, was rediscovered in June 2024 on the island of Mussau in Papua New Guinea. (© Photo by Joshua Bergmark/Ornis Birding Expeditions)

28. August 2024 Doreen Fräßdorf

Mussau Triller: Lost Bird Species Rediscovered After 44 Years

The Mussau triller (Lalage conjuncta), last documented in 1979, was rediscovered in June of this year by Australian bird photographer Joshua Bergmark during a tour with a group of birdwatchers. This songbird species, part of the cuckooshrike family, is endemic to Mussau Island, located in the Bismarck Archipelago north of

Mücken in Hawaii zur Rettung des Hawaii-Sichelkleidervogels Hemignathus munroi

The ʻiʻiwi is among the species in Hawaii threatened by avian malaria, to which they have no natural immunity. The IUCN classifies the ʻiʻiwi as “endangered”. (© Photographer: Carter Atkinson, U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

30. June 2024 Doreen Fräßdorf

Saving the Last Honeycreepers: Millions of Mosquitoes in Hawaii to Prevent Extinction

For the Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, the ʻula-ʻai-hāwane, and the black mamo, any help comes too late, but the still existing honeycreepers (Drepanidini) and numerous other bird species on the Hawaiian Islands can still be saved. An unusual measure could now secure the survival of the endangered species. The problem: Avian malaria

Ula-ai-hawane in the book Birds of the Sandwich Islands (1890–1899) by F. W. Frohawk. (© Frederick William Frohawk, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

18. March 2022 Doreen Fräßdorf

Ula-ai-hawane

The Hawaiian island chain once harbored 57 species of honeycreepers Honeycreepers (Drepanidini), a tribe within the finch family (Fringillidae), occur only on the Hawaiian island chain. As a sister group, the honeycreepers are closely related to the rosefinches (Carpodacus), yet many species have developed traits that differ from those of

Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) - Illustration by Keulemans

Male huias (bottom) reached a length of around 45 centimeters, while female huias (top) measured between 48 and 55 centimeters. The illustration is by John G. Keulemans from Walter Buller's A History of the Birds of New Zealand (1873). (© John Gerrard Keulemans, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

4. July 2021 Doreen Fräßdorf

Huia

When males and females look like two different species The particularly pronounced sexual dimorphism between female and male huia caused confusion in the past. It even went so far that the English ornithologist John Gould in 1836 described male and female huia as different species. Even today, scientists debate how