Reflecting upon these figures, Jeremy Greenwood of the BTO said: "We have excellent information about the changes in distribution and numbers of birds in Britain and Ireland, and the information globally is better than for any other group of animals or plants. There has been a concern that information for birds might not be representative. This analysis shows that the extinction rates of birds do not over-estimate the seriousness of the global extinction crisis."
"As with so much of our knowledge of Britain's birds, this study could not have been undertaken without the survey work carried out by thousands of volunteer birdwatchers. It is on their efforts that so much conservation action continues to rest." "Sadly, many of the birdwatchers who contributed to the first Breeding Atlas, which covered the period 1968 to 1972, are no longer with us. It is wonderful that their records can still be used to show that birds are good indicators of global extinction rates. The BTO needs to recruit new volunteers to monitor bird numbers and uphold their legacy."
Journal
Science