JERUSALEM: Israeli researchers revealed that at least 469 bird species have become extinct over the last 50,000 years, inflicted mainly by humans, as per the Tel Aviv University (TAU).

The findings are included in a study conducted by the TAU and the Weizmann Institute of Science and published in the Journal of Biogeography.

The researchers believe that the vast extinction was caused primarily by humans who hunted the birds for food, or by animals brought to islands by humans that fed on the birds and their eggs.

This caused the disappearance of about 10-20 percent of all avian species, the researchers said.

They were able to list 469 avian species that became extinct over the last 50,000 years, but they noted that the real number is much higher.

Most of the extinct species shared several features: they were large, they lived on islands, and many of them were flightless.

The findings are based mainly on the bird remains found on human sites, and on the fact that most birds’ extinction occurred a short time after the arrival of humans.

“We hope that our findings can serve as warning signals regarding bird species currently threatened with extinction, and it is, therefore, important to check whether they have similar features,” the researchers concluded. (Xinhua)