Scientists Say ‘Lost Birds List’ Will Help Protect Rare Species

The first comprehensive list of bird species that haven’t been seen or heard in more than a decade, reported by citizen scientists, has been released by scientists.

The Louisiade pitta, Erythropitta meeki, is one of the “lost” species found in 2022 and 2023 on Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea. There had been no definite record of this bird since 1898. (Credit: Wang Bin | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library)

The first comprehensive list of birds that haven’t been seen or heard in more than a decade has been released by a group of scientists, drawing on a wealth of citizen scientist sightings, photographs, video and audio recordings reported to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.