45 per cent of migratory bird species are in decline
The State of the World's Birds report, released by BirdLife International at a Nairobi summit, finds that 45 per cent of migratory bird species are in decline and one in nine is threatened with extinction. Seabirds and shorebirds that depend on marine habitats and coastal wetlands fare worst. The slender-billed curlew was declared extinct in 2025. Governments and development banks signed the Nairobi Flyways Declaration, with more than 6 billion dollars mobilised for flyway conservation since 2021.
Science··Night
45 per cent of migratory species are falling
BirdLife International launched the sixth State of the World's Birds report at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted by Nature Kenya. This edition is the first focused entirely on migratory birds and the flyways they use. It finds that 45 per cent of migratory bird species are in decline and one in nine is threatened with extinction. Mail & Guardian reports the same core numbers against a world total of 1,843 migratory bird species, with 30 per cent stable, 14 per cent increasing and 11 per cent of unknown trend. The slender-billed curlew was declared extinct in 2025, the first global bird extinction in mainland Eurasia and Africa in recent centuries.[1], [2], [3]
Stopover sites and hunting pressure
Seabirds and shorebirds that depend on marine habitats, forests and coastal wetlands are faring particularly poorly. Mail & Guardian reports that 54 per cent of migratory shorebirds and 49 per cent of migratory seabirds are declining, and that East Asia-Australasia has the highest share of declining species among the four terrestrial flyway systems, at 53 per cent. The Guardian and Mail & Guardian both report that 58 per cent of 1,099 key biodiversity areas used by migratory birds are in poor or very poor condition. An estimated 13.1 million to 42.7 million migratory birds are illegally killed or taken each year across Europe, the Mediterranean, the Caucasus and the Arabian peninsula.[1], [2], [3]
A flyway declaration and 6 billion dollars
At the same Nairobi summit, governments, scientists, conservation groups and financial institutions signed the Nairobi Flyways Declaration. BirdLife International and The Guardian report that development banks have mobilised more than 6 billion dollars for flyway conservation since 2021. The Guardian records recovery where coordinated work has already run: eradication of non-native mammals on Australia's Macquarie Island, restoration of 37,553 hectares of mudflat in China after removal of Spartina, and peaks of more than 32,000 waterbirds, including 11,270 red knots, at Wallasea Island in Essex.[1], [2]
