Twenty-three years on: an updated list of extinct and endangered (E&E) birds for collections management

Extinct and endangered (E&E) specimens are among the most valued in natural history collections and are often subject to heightened curatorial care. Based on data published in 2000 by BirdLife International as part of its assessment of species against the IUCN Red List criteria, Adams et al. (2003) established an E&E list of 481 bird species for use by museum collection managers. However, given the dynamic nature of extinction risk and improved knowledge of many threatened taxa over the past 23 years, several aspects of this list are now outdated. Using criteria similar to those developed by Adams et al. (2003), we provide an updated E&E list comprising 626 species (of which 164 are listed on the IUCN Red List as Extinct). The increase in the number of species admitted by 29% is attributable chiefly to four factors: (1) genuine changes in species' extinction risk; (2) corrections to the data underpinning Red List assessments; (3) changes in taxonomy; and (4) the novel inclusion of species listed as Data Deficient. Our list provides a suggested update for E&E inventories but may be adapted by museums and others to ensure the protection of other ornithological material considered of heightened value or scarcity.