Red alert on birds facing extinction

THE bird conservation equivalent of a school term report has appeared in Britain.

Each species is given an honours, pass, or fail rating. “Green” listed birds are doing well; “amber” ones “could do better”; but those on the “red” list are in trouble.

Bad boys and girls risk expulsion from school, but birds who don’t measure up face extinction. The new birds-in-danger list makes for gloomy reading. Although six species, including the bullfinch and the quail, have pulled up their socks and moved from red to amber, 18 others have dropped from amber to red.