Global collapse in huge songbird population

With its canary-yellow colouring, the yellow-breasted bunting - about the size of a sparrow - is one of the more striking species of songbirds. Until a few years ago it was one of the commonest birds found in northern Europe and Asia. Since then, however, ornithologists have recorded sharp declines in many regions. In the last 18 months the yellow-breasted bunting has been included in the international Red List of endangered species as being "critically endangered". Just how dramatic the decline is, is now shown in its entirety for the first time in a comprehensive new study carried out by scientists from Germany, England, Russia, Finland and Japan. The researchers document the global collapse in the bird's population. They see the main cause in the extremely widespread poaching of the birds in China.