The birds have not been seen for at least a decade – some for more than 100 years – but the authors of a new list of missing species have not given up hope

The coppery thorntail and New Caledonian lorikeet are among the 126 birds “lost” to science, having not been seen for a decade or more, according to the most comprehensive list of missing species composed to date.

The new tally is based on millions of records collected by enthusiastic birders and amateur scientists documenting wildlife in some of the planet’s most remote locations. To be part of the dataset, the bird must not have a recorded sighting in at least a decade, and not be assessed as extinct or extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Birth control is being trialled as a humane way to limit growing numbers of grey squirrels, pigeons and wild boar

The invention of the contraceptive pill heralded the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and now scientists are looking to revolutionise wildlife control by getting animals in on the action. Trials are under way in the UK and elsewhere in Europe of how to get contraceptives into pigeons, wild boar and grey squirrels, with scientists also proposingother rodents, invasive parakeets and deer as other target species.

As destruction from invasive and pest species grows, researchers are looking to fill special feeders and bait boxes with hazelnut spreads and grains laced with contraceptives. They believe this could be a more humane and effective way of controlling populations that have previously been poisoned, shot or trapped.

Cocaine traffickers have put two-thirds of Central America’s key habitats for threatened birds under threat, study finds

Cocaine consumption is threatening rare tropical birds as narco-traffickers move into some of the planet’s most remote forests to evade drug crackdowns, a study has warned.

Two-thirds of key forest habitats for birds in Central America are at risk of being destroyed by “narco-driven” deforestation, according to the paper, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Sustainability.

Enlarge / Holstein cows at a dairy farm. (credit: Getty | John Carl D'Annibale)

Another dairy farm worker in Michigan has been infected with avian influenza virus, state and federal health officials reported Thursday.

The case marks the third time the outbreak of bird flu in milking cows is known to have spilled over to a human. The dairy farm worker in Michigan, like the others, had close contact with H5N1-infected dairy cows, suggesting another case of cow-to-human transmission.

But the case reported today is notable for being the first one involving respiratory symptoms. In the first two cases, the dairy workers (one in Texas, the other in Michigan) reported only eye infections (conjunctivitis). This third case—also in Michigan but from a different farm—reported upper respiratory symptoms, including cough, congestion, and sore throat, as well as eye discomfort and watery discharge, but not conjunctivitis. The worker was given an antiviral (Tamiflu) and is said to be recovering. No other workers on the farm have shown symptoms, and the worker's household contacts are being monitored.

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