Fw: BirdLife discussion group

["Hugo Phillipps" <>(by way of Hugo Phillipps <>)]

Hi everybody -

Forwarding message below from Stephen Garnett by request.

Cheers,
Hugo
-------------------------

BirdLife International's Globally Threatened Bird Update ? Australian forum - an invitation to join in

We would like to invite you to join BirdLife International's ?Globally Threatened Bird Update?. This aims to feed the latest information on threatened birds into the 2004 IUCN Red List of threatened species  and, most importantly, into setting priorities for bird conservation. Although a wealth of information was compiled in Threatened birds of the world (2000) and the Action plan for Australian birds 2000, situations in conservation can change rapidly, and we are seeking the most up-to-date information in order to review the status of all Globally Threatened Birds. For Australia the information from the recent Atlas of Australian birds has become available since the Action Plan and is leading to the reappraisal of the status of some taxa.

We are reliant on species experts across the world to contribute their up-to-date information, informed comments, and unpublished data in order to ensure the most appropriate assessment of threat status for each species. We would like to invite you to contribute to this process and to take part in this important project.

An exciting new development is the launch of discussion forums where contributors can share information on Globally Threatened Birds. Specifically you can 1) see which species are proposed for revised threat status; 2) contribute comment or new information on the proposed revisions; and 3) suggest other species that may need revising. The discussions forums are organised by region and in some cases by species group (e.g. seabirds).

We are now launching the forums for Australia, and invite you to join in. For background to the project and links to the forums, click the Globally Threatened Bird Update button on the BirdLife homepage <http://www.birdlife.net/> or go straight to <http://www.birdlife.net/gtbirds/index.cfm>.

You can browse the discussions as a guest, but to post a comment or to contribute new information you will need to login. It?s very easy to use the forums - click ?How to use the forums? in the right-hand menu of the forums homepage for details.

You don?t need to keep visiting the forum through the web. You can choose to receive emails with new postings automatically, or daily or weekly digests. These can cover the whole forum or particular species only. You can also contribute your information by replying to email messages.

The Globally Threatened Bird Update focuses on species whose threat status may need revising (or assessment for the first time). Here is the initial list of topics for discussion in the Australia forum:

Species

<outbind:@.2cba28f8>Is the Rufous Bristlebird really Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28f7>Has Varied Lorikeet declined sufficiently for it to be considered Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28f6>Is the Eastern Curlew really Near Threatened or should it be listed as Least Concern?

<outbind:@.2cba28f5>Should Tasmanian Native-hen be reclassified as Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28f4>Should Scarlet-chested Parrot be downlisted to Least Concern?

<outbind:@.2cba28f3>Should the regional status of Turquoise Parrot be revised?

<outbind:@.2cba28f2>Are Red-browed Treecreepers and Rock Warblers really threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28f1>Has Yellow-rumped Mannikin declined in abundance?

<outbind:@.2cba28f0>Should the Black-throated Finch be reclassified as Vulnerable?

<outbind:@.2cba28ef>Should Blue-billed Duck be listed as at least Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28ee>Are Australasian Bitterns Endangered?

<outbind:@.2cba28ed>Should Letter-winged Kite be Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28ec>Is the status of the Carpentarian Grasswren of global concern?

<outbind:@.2cba28eb>Should the Flame Robin be upgraded to Vulnerable?

Subspecies

<outbind:@.2cba2904>Should the western subspecies of Crested Shriketit be Vulnerable or Endangered?

<outbind:@.2cba2903>Is the Tasmanian Spotted Quail-thrush Near Threatened or Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba2902>Should three of the mainland forms of Olive Whistler and the mainland subspecies of Pink Robin be Near Threatened or even threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba2901>Jacky Winter, Scarlet Robin and Restless Flycatcher: are some subspecies Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba2900>How threatened is the Hooded Robin on the Tiwi Islands?

<outbind:@.2cba28ff>Should the eastern subspecies of Spinifex Pigeon be considered Least Concern?

<outbind:@.2cba28fe>Are Pacific Golden Plover and Lesser Sand Plover in the east-Asian flyway Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28fd>Are Black-tailed Godwits in the east Asian flyway Near Threatened?

<outbind:@.2cba28fc>Are Dusky and Black-faced Woodswallows Near Threatened in south-western Australia?

<outbind:@.2cba28fb>Is the Tasmanian Lewin?s Rail Threatened?

We expect the discussion forums to be an ongoing process and part of an annual cycle to review the status of threatened birds. For this round, we will aim to reach decisions on revised assessments by July 2003. This will allow them to feed into the 2004 IUCN Red List, which will comprise a major review and revision of several taxonomic groups.

A key feature of the new system is that it will be much easier to credit information from particular contributors, and to acknowledge the large pool of experts whose participation is vital for ensuring that accurate and up-to-date data are used in assessing the threat status of these birds. If you have contributed relevant information or comment on a species, you will be explicitly credited in the account for that species.

BirdLife is the official Listing Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List. Birds Australia is the partner of BirdLife International in Australia and is in the process of developing and maintaining its own list based, initially, on the Action Plan. While we provide coordination and facilitation, the quality and relevance of the information itself rely fundamentally on the participation of thousands of individual experts and key organisations. We hope very much that you will want to be part of this important project, and look forward to your contributions.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact:
Stuart Butchart <> or
Stephen Garnett <>
who are coordinating this initiative for Australia.

Best wishes

Stephen Garnett (Birds Australia Conservation Status Working Group Coordinator)

Alison Stattersfield (Global Species Programme Coordinator)

Stuart Butchart (Global Species Officer)

P.S.  You may be interested to see BirdLife?s recently published booklet Globally Threatened Birds: indicating priorities for action. This summarises global analyses (with regional examples) of information on Globally Threatened Birds. It can be downloaded at <http://www.birdlife.net/gtbirds/GTB_Booklet.pdf> and hard copies are available on request  (please email <> with your postal address).

Birding-Aus is on the Web at www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line) to