Gone forever: Extinction sounds an alarm for migratory birds

The slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) is officially extinct with no individuals left in the wild. The announcement by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on 10 October 2025 marked the global disappearance of a once-widespread migratory bird.

The last sighting was on 25 February 1995 at Merja Zerga in Morocco. For the last 30 years, conservationists searched for individuals to no avail. This extinction event exposes the vulnerability of migratory birds and the urgent need for coordinated international action.

Among the primary threats, experts point to unsustainable hunting along migratory flyways in Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa as a likely driver.

Despite early recognition of the threat, the species has been protected under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) since 1979. It was listed in Appendix I, which means a species at risk of extinction requiring strict protection, and Appendix II for species that would benefit from cooperative conservation across their migratory routes.

Despite decades of efforts, they could not halt its decline. This included a 1994 Memorandum of Understanding to conserve the species and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) in 1995. The latter came five months before what was later confirmed as the bird’s last sighting. Before this, conservationists estimated about 50 individuals.

“The extinction of the slender-billed curlew is a sobering reminder that conservation measures must be implemented quickly and effectively,” said Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of CMS. Nicola Crockford, chair of the CMS/BirdLife Slender-billed Curlew Working Group, warned: “With new technologies and knowledge now available, there is no excuse for allowing such tragedies to repeat. You cannot restore a species once it is gone.”

The slender-billed curlew is not alone in its plight. Other migratory waders are following a similar trajectory. The grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola), broad-billed sandpiper (Calidris falcinellus), and curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) have all been uplisted to Vulnerable, while the ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) and dunlin (Calidris alpina) are now Near Threatened, teetering on the brink.

Yet amid this grim picture, success stories offer a blueprint for action. The red kite (Milvus milvus) rebounded from Near Threatened to Least Concern thanks to coordinated law enforcement, habitat management, and community engagement across Europe, proving the effectiveness of sustained, well-targeted conservation.

We published this article in the fourth edition of ThisWildEarth. Read our other publications here.

The closely related Eurasian curlew in front with slender-billed curlew at the back, taken in Yemen. Credit: Richard Porter

Wings now silent. The slender-billed curlew is gone.  Credit: Richard Porter

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