The Top 5 Countries with the Most Critically Endangered Bird Species

1. A total of 146 countries and territories support at least one Critically Endangered species.
2. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of Critically Endangered bird species are restricted to a single country, while some broader-ranging and migrant species occur in several. For example, Slender-billed Curlew was formerly native to 24, while Spoon-billed Sandpiper is found in 16. This means that many countries share responsibility for conserving these highly threatened species.
3. Many Critically Endangered species are restricted to just one or a few Important Bird Areas. For example the Spoon-billed Sandpiper breeds in north-east Russia, and occurs in 15 other countries on passage and during the non-breeding season. Its conservation therefore requires strong international collaboration.
4. A total of 133 species are documented as having gone extinct since the year 1500.
5. Trends for the world’s birds show that there has been a steady and continuing deterioration in the threat status (relative projected extinction risk) of the world’s birds since 1988, when the first complete global assessment was carried out. This means that, overall, bird species are continuing to slip closer to extinction, with any conservation successes being outweighed by the number of species deteriorating in status.

Top 5 facts sources: a. Critically Endangered Birds a Global Audit: A State of the World's Birds Report, b. Birdlife International.