A recent study found that humans have made about 1,400 bird species go extinct, which is double what we knew before.
This is a big problem for the world's biodiversity.
Let's find out more about how it was discovered.
Mass bird extinction
When people arrived on islands like Hawaii, it caused problems like cutting down forests, hunting too much, and introducing harmful species. As a result, many bird species disappeared.
We learn about past extinctions from fossils, but bird bones break down over time, so it's hard to know exactly how many species went extinct.
Scientists estimate that about 1,430 bird species, which is almost 12% of all birds, have vanished because of human activity over the past 130,000 years.
This includes losing their homes, being used too much, and facing predators that attacked their nests and competed for food.
These extinctions have a big impact on biodiversity because they affect important roles like spreading seeds and pollinating plants.
The study also discovered that 640 bird species have gone extinct since the Late Pleistocene, and they think around 790 more species might have disappeared, leaving us with less than 11,000 bird species today.
Why it's important
The specialists believe this is the largest human-driven vertebrate extinction event in history.
They highlight the urgency of conservation efforts to protect birds and their habitats.
Previously, we talked about ants having memory.
