UK conservation status

- What it means

The UK's birds can be split into categories according to their conservation importance:

Highest conservation priority - most vulnerable species

Lowest conservation priority - least vulnerable species

Red

Amber

Green

Red

To be in the red category, a species must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

Amber

To be in the amber category, a species must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

Green

Al other UK species which don't fall into the red or amber categories are placed into the green category. Their populations and ranges are large enough for the time being to not warrant any special conservation attention.

References:

1 RSPB (n.d.) ‘Endangered Birds | Red, Amber and Green Explained’. [online] Available from: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/uk-conservation-status-explained/ (Accessed 26 May 2020)

2 BTO - The British Trust for Ornithology (2015) ‘Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds’. [online] Available from: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/psob (Accessed 26 May 2020)

UK conservation status

- What it means

The UK's birds can be split into categories according to their conservation importance:

Highest conservation priority - most vulnerable species

​

​

​

​

Lowest conservation priority - least vulnerable species

Red

​

Amber

​

Green

Red

To be in the red category, a species must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

The species is globally threatened

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Historical decline in the UK (from 1800 to 1995)

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Severe decline (>50%) in UK breeding population over last 25 years (or since 1969)

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Severe reduction (>50%) of UK breeding range over last 25 years (or since 1969)

Amber

To be in the amber category, a species must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

The species has unfavourable conservation status in Europe (it's a Species of European Conservation Concern

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Historical decline in the UK from 1800 to 1995 but recovering - population has more than doubled over last 25 years

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Moderate decline (25-50%) in UK breeding population over last 25 years (or since 1969)

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Moderate reduction (25-50%) in UK breeding range over last 25 years (or since 1969)

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Moderate decline (25-50%) in UK non-breeding population over last 25 years (or since 1969)

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Rare breeder (1-300 breeding pairs in UK)

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Small non-breeding population (<900 individuals)

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Localised (at least 50% of UK population restricted to 10 sites or fewer) - doesn't apply to rare breeders or non-breeders

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Internationally important (at least 20% of European population in UK)

Green

Al other UK species which don't fall into the red or amber categories are placed into the green category. Their populations and ranges are large enough for the time being to not warrant any special conservation attention.

References:

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1 RSPB (n.d.) ‘Endangered Birds | Red, Amber and Green Explained’. [online] Available from: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/uk-conservation-status-explained/ (Accessed 26 May 2020)

2 BTO - The British Trust for Ornithology (2015) ‘Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds’. [online] Available from: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/psob (Accessed 26 May 2020)