BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. It is the World's largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 100 partner organisations including the RSPB, the Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society, National Audubon Society, Bombay Natural History Society, Birds Australia, Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, Nature Seychelles, Malaysian Nature Society, and BirdWatch Ireland. Together the BirdLife Partnership forms the leading authority on the status of birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting bird life.

History
BirdLife International was founded in 1922 by American ornithologists T. Gilbert Pearson and Jean Theodore Delacour as the International Council for Bird Preservation. This lobbying group fell into disuse after World War II. It became active again in 1983 with the appointment of a professional director, and changed its name in 1993 to Birdlife International.

Regional work
Birdlife International has conservation work programmes in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and the Caribbean.

Global programmes
Within each of these regions, Birdlife International carries out various global programmes, including: The Global Seabird Programme, The Birdlife Preventing Extinctions Programme, the Flyways Programme, the Climate Change Programme, the Forests of Hope Programme, the Local Empowerment Programme and the Important Bird Areas Programme.

Magazine
Birdlife International publishes a quarterly magazine - 'World Birdwatch'. The magazine contains recent news and authoritative articles about birds, their habitats, and their conservation around the world.

Red List
BirdLife International is the official Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN. In the latest assessment in 2012, 1,313 species of bird are considered threatened with extinction (i.e. in the categories of Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable). This represents 13% of the total of 10,064 extant bird species in the world.