The Rarest Birds

The rarest bird in the world is much harder to estimate because though a large number of birds are rare, in most cases the exact number of birds left living for any given species is impossible to ascertain. Some species have been rare for a long time. These include the Sudanese Red Sea Cliff Swallow (Hirundo perdita) seen once in 1984 and the Orange-necked Partridge (Arborophila davidi) seen once in 1927. Other birds are known or believed to be extinct in the wild but still have some representatives living in captivity. A good example of this is the Spix's Macaw (Cyanopsitta spiscii) hunted to the brink of extinction to satisfy the foolish demands of the pet trade.

Since the 1600s at least 115 species of bird are known to have gone extinct, mostly as a result of human interference of one sort or another. However, we humans are not all bad and sometimes the good guys win. Some prime examples of this are the Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) once down to 4 wild individuals, but now there are more than 300, and the Californian Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) which after the last wild male was caught in 1987 was down to 27 individuals all in captivity. By 1994 captive breeding had brought the population up to 75 with 9 in the wild.