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Belgium is home to 12 endangered bird species

11:51 05/06/2015

Of the 211 bird species in Belgium, 12 are endangered on a European scale, according to the first European Red List of Birds, published this week by BirdLife International, the world's largest nature conservation partnership. The list, which acts as a tool for assessing the extinction risk of species, shows that 67 out of 533 European species (13%) are threatened.

Of the planet’s 10,000 different bird species, 533 species nest, winter and reside in Europe. Of these, 67 species (13%) are considered endangered. Of Belgium’s 211 bird species, 12 (5.7%) are endangered.

"It's becoming disturbingly quiet in the countryside," said Marc Herremans of Natuurpunt. "Let this be an alarm bell for policymakers, both at the European and Flemish level. For species such as the turtle dove and northern lapwing, there’s not even a plan in place, while time is running out."

Turtledove and lapwing (pictured) populations in Belgium have been on a strong and worrying decline over the last 10 years, due in part to the overall landscape deterioration of farmland leading to less breeding places and less food for the birds, according to Herremans.

Belgium’s lapwing population more than halved in the last few years. "The lapwing is struggling with the same problems as other domestic birds, such as shrinking food supplies and nesting places,” says Herremans.

Written by Robyn Boyle