The Yellow-Breasted Bunting is on the verge of extinction

The yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola), a once common migratory bird, has been driven to the brink of extinction in recent years. The species was reclassified as“critically endangered” on the red list of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on Tuesday. The status is one step from the highest level of“extinct in the wild”. Back in 2000, the species was listed under“least concern”, the lowest level on the six-grade alert system.

Every year, yellow-breasted buntings migrate from Siberia southward to wintering grounds in south China and southeast Asia in a journey spanning up to 4,000 kilometers. In South China’s Guangdong province, where the yellow-breasted bunting is considered a delicacy, there were records of consumption of the bird as early as the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Once restricted to a small area of southern China, the practice of cooking yellow-breasted buntings has become more widespread and popular due to increasing affluence, and now hunters have to travel widely to find sufficient birds, according to the IUCN.

A man surnamed Liu from the northern province of Hebei told Beijing Youth Daily that back in 2000, more than 400 yellow-breasted buntings could be captured in one net; and in 2008, he could still catch more than 50 birds in one day. But today, only one or two can be caught in a day.

Source: China.org.cn, 8 Dec 2017
http://www.china.org.cn/china/2017-12/08/content_50092867.htm