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[00:00.43] Birds of prey, also known as raptors, are species of birds that feed almost entirely on meat that they hunt.

[00:11.33] A new report shows that these birds are dropping in number worldwide.

[00:18.76] Researchers from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and BirdLife International studied 557 raptor species.

[00:31.25] They found that 167 of the bird species are considered near threatened, vulnerable or endangered or critically endangered.

[00:43.47] Their study also reported that 18 species are critically endangered, including the Philippine eagle, the hooded vulture and the Annobon scops owl.

[00:56.53] Gerardo Ceballos is a bird scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

[01:04.23] He was one of the writers of the study, which appeared earlier this month in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[01:15.19] He noted that other species are in danger of becoming locally extinct in some areas of the world.

[01:23.45] That means they may no longer play important parts as top hunters in those environments.

[01:32.33] “The golden eagle is the national bird of Mexico, but we have very few golden eagles left in Mexico,” he said.

[01:42.20] A 2016 study estimated only about 200 remain in the country.

[01:49.95] Harpy eagles were once widespread throughout southern Mexico and Central and South America.

[02:01.42] But tree cutting and burning has greatly decreased their range.

[02:04.34] The study found that 54 percent of threatened birds of prey that are active mostly during the day — including most hawks, eagles and vultures —were falling in population.

[02:19.22] The same was true for 47 percent of threatened raptors active mostly at night, such as owls.

[02:29.33] Evan Buechley is a researcher at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and a scientist at nonprofit HawkWatch International.

[02:39.44] He was not involved in the study.

[02:42.36] He said the biggest threats to birds of prey are habitat loss, climate change and poisonous substances.

[02:53.81] The insect-killing substance DDT thinned eggshells and destroyed bald eagle populations in North America, leading to its ban in the U.S. in 1972.

[03:07.89] But Buechley said other threats remain, including rodent-killing substances and the lead in hunters’ ammunition.

[03:21.17] Many raptors feed on rodents and dead animals.

[03:24.09] Widespread use of a drug used in farm animals led to the fast decline of vultures in South Asia.

[03:40.58] The birds died after eating animal remains, which decreased the population of some species by 95 percent in recent decades.

[03:46.42] In East Asia, many raptor species reproduce in northern China, Mongolia or Russia.

[03:57.58] They then travel down the eastern coast of China to spend summers in Southeast Asia or India.

[04:04.22] “Certain areas of the coast will see 30 to 40 species during peak migration,” said Yang Liu.

[04:13.53] He is an ecologist at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou and was not involved in the study.

[04:23.62] He said that areas with thousands of birds passing through them “are important to protect.”

[04:30.53] Stuart Butchart is chief scientist at BirdLife International in Britain.

[04:37.70] He said that most of the 4,200 areas identified by conservation groups as critical for raptor species worldwide “are unprotected or only partly covered by protected areas.”

[04:54.97] A 2018 study in the publication Biological Conservation found that 52 percent of all raptor species worldwide are decreasing in population.