Colourful songbirds face higher extinction risk
New research suggests the world’s most colourful passerines are more likely to be threatened, with the pet trade only partly explaining the pattern.
More colourful songbirds are more likely to be at risk of extinction than duller species, according to a new study published in Conservation Biology.
The research, reported by Phys.org and led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, examined the relationship between colourfulness and extinction risk across the world’s passerine birds.
Passerines, also known as songbirds or perching birds, are the largest and most diverse group of birds, accounting for more than half of all bird species. They include familiar groups such as swallows, sparrows, chickadees, crows and many tropical songbirds.
The study found a clear positive relationship between colourfulness and extinction risk. In other words, the more colourful a species was, the more likely it was to be listed in a higher threat category on the IUCN Red List.
The research was inspired by fieldwork in Vietnam, where Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela and Monte Neate-Clegg were searching for the rare Collared Laughingthrush.
The species, nicknamed the “Halloween bird” because of its striking orange, silver and black plumage, is highly valued in the pet trade in Vietnam and is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.
Ocampo-Peñuela, an assistant professor in the environmental studies department at UC Santa Cruz, said the idea for the study emerged while waiting for the bird to appear in the forest.
“We were crouched there in the gloom waiting for this enigmatic bird to appear, and as we sat, we pondered whether the pet trade differentially affects colourful birds, and if this would be reflected in their threat categories,” she said.
To investigate the link, the researchers modelled bird colour against a range of other traits and pressures, including diet, wing shape, body size, geographical range, human development measures and data from the Songbirds in Trade repository.
The results showed that the relationship between colourfulness and extinction risk was particularly strong in Indomalaya, which includes South and Southeast Asia, southern China and parts of Indonesia, as well as in Australasia.
In Southeast Asia, the trade in wild songbirds is a major conservation issue, with many species trapped for their beauty, song or use in competitions. The study also found that the link between colour and extinction risk was stronger in countries with a lower Human Development Index, where there may be greater economic incentives to trade birds and fewer regulatory controls.
However, the pet trade did not fully explain the pattern. More colourful species that were not known to be traded were still found to be at higher extinction risk, suggesting that other factors are also involved.
Neate-Clegg said: “One of the biggest results to come out of this is that the pet trade is insufficient to explain our findings, and therefore we need to know more about why there would be this relationship between colourfulness and extinction risk if we are to protect the world’s most colourful birds.”
The study found that the relationship between colourfulness and extinction risk varied by region.
In Southeast Asia, the researchers suggest the trade in wild songbirds is likely to be a major driver. In Latin America and Africa, Ocampo-Peñuela said habitat loss and climate change may be more important pressures.
The study also found the relationship was stronger in temperate regions than in the tropics. The researchers suggest this may partly reflect differences in how well species have been assessed. In temperate countries, colourful and charismatic birds may receive more conservation attention and be more likely to have their threat status evaluated.
In the tropics, where colourful birds are especially diverse and conservation resources can be more limited, some species may remain understudied or under-assessed.
The researchers suggest that other possible explanations for the link between colour and extinction risk could include predation, land-use change and climate change.
Neate-Clegg said that if colourful birds are more visible to predators, and human-driven environmental change is also increasing predation pressure, the effect could fall disproportionately on more colourful species.
The authors say the findings could help guide conservation work, including trade policy, targeted protection for vulnerable species and public awareness campaigns around the impacts of keeping wild songbirds as pets.
Neate-Clegg said: “People tend to care more about and rally around these colourful birds, which is what makes them really good flagship species for conservation. However, if we lose the most colourful ones, we lose the ones that people care about the most, and the ones that are doing the heaviest lifting for conservation.”
July 2026
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