Sparrows and skylarks declining

Some of the most common bird species across Europe are facing a steep decline. Results from scientific surveys in 25 countries across the continent indicate that house sparrow numbers have fallen by 62%, starlings lost 53% and skylarks 46% of their population over the last 30 years.

On the other hand, conservation efforts for rarer species have been quite successful during that time. The number of blackcaps have gone up 114%, common chiffchaff numbers are up by 76% and wrens by 56%.

"The focus up to this point has very much been on conserving rare species," says lead author, Richard Inger, from the University of Exeter, as quoted in the Guardian."That’s what it should be, in many ways, but the issue there is that if you’re not careful, you can spend all of your conservation dollars on just protecting the rare things. You can take your eye off the ball, if you will."