For the first time in Australia, shorebirds have hit the critically endangered list

Two iconic Australian shorebirds have been added to the critically endangered list. The extraordinary sickle-billed Eastern curlew, and its smaller cousin, the curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) , are the first shorebirds on the list. The Eastern curlew is the largest migratory shorebird in the world, known for using the length of its extraordinary bill to work deep down into mud and sand after prey. The curlew sandpiper was until recently one of the most common of the group of small shoreline-running birds found along Australia's coasts. At the furthest extent of the East Asian-Australasian flyway, in southern Tasmania, the most catastrophic losses have been counted. There, 90 per cent of curlews have gone and 100 per cent of curlew sandpipers, said Eric Woehler, convenor of BirdLife Tasmania. Across the country there has been an 81 per cent decline in curlews over three generations, and an 82 per cent decline in curlew sandpipers, according to official advice to the Environment Minister, Greg Hunt.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 May 2015
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/first-australian-shorebi…