On the Hunt for Lost South Island Kōkako

Birdwatchers around the world are being called on to turn detective and help in a search for some of the rarest birds on Earth, including New Zealand’s South Island kōkako, last seen in 2007.

The global Search for Lost Birds presents researchers, conservationists and the global birdwatching community with a Top 10 Most Wanted list of birds that have been lost to science, Graeme Green writes for The Guardian.

The Most Wanted list is a joint effort between Re:wild, American Bird Conservancy and BirdLife International.

Birdwatchers are being encouraged to register any sightings of the 10 species on the eBird platform of Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology.

“These Top 10 lost birds are really just the most extreme examples of gaps in our collective knowledge about birds,” said John C Mittermeier, at American Bird Conservancy. “But there are many mysteries to solve and findings to contribute that are incredibly useful for science and conservation.

Original article by Graeme Green, The Guardian, December 17, 2021.