For birders, there are few moments more electric than the instant a disappeared species comes back into view. In 2025, that feeling struck five times over. Birders and scientists documented five “lost” bird species alive and well after each had vanished from scientific records for a decade or more — a streak of good news that has reshaped one of the most sobering lists in conservation.
The global Lost Birds List, maintained through a partnership between the American Bird Conservancy, Re:wild and BirdLife International, shrank from 163 species in 2022 to just 120 today. To earn the grim label of “lost,” a species must go undocumented — whether by photograph, audio recording or genetic sample — for at least ten years. The list functions, in the words of project director John Mittermeier, as an “early warning system” to identify at-risk species before they vanish forever.
The five birds confirmed alive in 2025 are all endemic to islands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The Bismarck kingfisher (Ceyx webberi) was spotted in Papua New Guinea after thirteen years in hiding. The Biak myzomela (Myzomela rubrobrunnea) was photographed in Indonesian Papua for the first time in two decades. Birders in the same region recorded the broad-billed fairywren (Chenorhamphus grayi) after an eleven-year absence. In the Philippines, the Sulu cuckooshrike (Coracina guillemardi) and the rufous-breasted blue flycatcher (Cyornis camarinensis) were each photographed after gaps of eighteen and seventeen years respectively.
These rediscoveries are remarkable, but Mittermeier is careful not to let optimism cloud the broader picture. Six new species are expected to join the Lost Birds List in 2026, among them the Mindoro bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba platenae) and Mindoro imperial pigeon (Ducula mindorensis). And in 2025, the slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) was officially declared extinct — a stark reminder that the list can move in only one direction if conservation effort falters. The high concentration of lost birds on islands is especially worrying, Mittermeier noted, since island species often have nowhere to retreat when their habitats shrink or invasive predators move in.
Still, there is genuine reason for hope. By combing through platforms like eBird, iNaturalist and Xeno-Canto, citizen scientists around the world have helped trim the lost list by a quarter in just five years. “I'm really hopeful that we can get this list down to zero,” Mittermeier said. “I think that's feasible … given the power and the interest of this global community.”
That global community keeps growing. Every photograph uploaded, every birdcall recorded, brings researchers one step closer to confirming that a species is still holding on — and gives conservationists the chance to act before it's too late.