The world is home to 50 billion birds

The world has about 50 billion individuals of nearly 10,000 bird species, according to a new study that uses public scientific observations to estimate bird populations.

The study estimates that many bird species in Australia, such as the rainbow parrot, number in the millions. Photo: Guardian. The world has about 50 billion individuals of nearly 10,000 bird species, according to a new study that uses public scientific observations to estimate bird populations. Research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), led by scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), shows that there are six times as many bird species on the planet as possible. human times. There are four species of birds that researchers call the “billion-person club,” with an estimated population greater than 1 billion individuals. These are house sparrows, European starlings, ring-billed gulls and swallows, found in many parts of the world. The researchers estimated the population of 9,700 species, based on hundreds of millions of bird observations recorded by birdwatchers on eBird, one of a number of community science projects on diversity. The world’s largest biome. They combined records with professional scientific observations to develop an algorithm that estimated the population numbers of most species. The team of scientists found that there are relatively few individuals of common bird species, but a large number of rare species. “They can be rare for natural reasons, as they really only live on one island,” said Associate Professor Will Cornwell, a UNSW ecologist and one of the lead scientists on the study. island or the top of a mountain, or they may be rare due to human causes.” Over time, he said, he hopes the models can chart which species are in decline and where conservation efforts are needed. Many bird species in Australia number into the millions such as the rainbow parrot (19 million individuals), the yellow cockatoo (10 million individuals) and the laughing kingfisher (3.4 million individuals). Mr. Sean Dooley, BirdLife Australia’s public affairs manager, is a longtime bird watcher and a contributor to community science programmes. The paper shows the value that people’s observations can contribute to scientific knowledge, he said. “This is a great first step to trying to discover what we have. It will be important if we can continue to do this over time, as we are witnessing a massive loss of wildlife. Research can help us do what is needed to get close to quantifying what’s going on.” By combining bird-watching records and professional monitoring of birds that are the subject of rigorous academic research, scientists have tweaked some of the things that have not been done, said Associate Professor Cornwell. certainly through public science. The model was then applied to birds that have not been studied professionally, he said. The figure of 50 billion birds represents the model’s average estimate for the total number of bird species worldwide. “The really big breakthrough in this study is that we can take the scientific data and the public science data and then fill in the gap for birds that are not expertly studied by scientists,” said Mr. Cornwell. research industry”. There is still some uncertainty in the figures, said Mr. Cornwell, and the researchers plan to refine the model as more professional studies of more species become available. He also said that the study revealed gaps in information due to the importance of scientific attention to birds in developed regions compared to developing countries of the world, and the need to It is necessary to refine global population estimates for all species. According to him, this also shows the role of public science in those efforts. Scientists will conduct another survey in the next few years.