Which bird species are endangered in Mexico?

• Main Author: Raúl Ortiz-Pulido
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Sección Mexicana del Consejo Internacional para la Preservación de las Aves, A.C. 2018-08-01
• Series: Huitzil
• Subjects: especies en peligro; extinción de aves; cambio climático; avifauna mexicana; categorías de riesgo.
• Online Access: http://ojs.huitzil.net/index.php/huitzil/article/view/348

In the coming centuries nearly 75% of bird species of the world could be extinct. Knowledge of the bird species considered as endangered, by country, should guide actions to protect them. Unfortunately for Mexico there is conflicting information about which bird species must be considered as endangered. For instance, Birdlife International suggests that there are 64 bird species in some at risk category in the country but it also mentions 415 bird species with declining populations. Here I determine the identity of the bird species that have been considered as endangered in some degree by several sources. I found that 655 bird species fall in such categories, that 297 of them have been protected by the Mexican laws, and that for 229 of them actions have been reported that seek to influence their conservation (since from basic studies, such as estimation of population size, to applied studies, such as reintroduction). At higher taxa levels, I found that 30 families and 7 orders had not received conservation action because less than 25% of their species have reported actions that seek their conservation. My findings suggest that in Mexico there are more bird species endangered than are protected currenty by Mexican law.