Lost Birds

Small brown bird with red feet and beak - the Himalayan Quail profile information. In the background, sun beams through a dense woodland forrest.

Around the world, more than 130 species of birds, or about one percent, are considered “lost.” At least a decade has passed since each of these species were last confirmed by photographs, sound recordings, or physical documentation.

To identify, promote, and rediscover these species, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) partnered with Re:wild, BirdLife International and Anthologie to form this global initiative. Via the Search for Lost Birds platform, international birders can converse and collaborate ‘wiki-style’ on news, maps, sightings, and profiles of over a hundred bird species.

World map with three small yellow pins. Panel draw to the right shows a list of missing birds.
Birds are not especially stationary creatures, often migrating across continents. We created a list view for the bird results that responds to the map's view and zoom level. This way, each bird can be assigned multiple hidden coordinates to represent its broad habitat.
Hannah Carpenter Senior Experience Designer
a mobile and a tablet screen. mobile screen shows "Your saved birds" and the tablet screen shows a searchable list of birds.

We developed the Search for Lost Birds with the team at American Bird Conservancy, with bespoke features for the birding community who will lead the addition and development of site content. Through this performant information hub, international birders can converse and collaborate ‘wiki-style’ on news, maps, sightings, and profiles of over a hundred “lost” bird species.

 

Two bird profiles featuring a short round green bird labelled 'Negros Fruit-dove' and a blue bird labelled 'South Island Kokako' Two bird profiles featuring a yellow throated brown bird labelled 'Dusky Tetra' and light brown bird with long legs and a black masked face labelled Jerdon's Courser'

Prominent actor and passionate environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio recently took to Instagram to spotlight the remarkable efforts of The American Bird Conservancy in partnership with re:Wild. Sharing their collaborative work, DiCaprio ignited global engagement in the vital #SearchForLostBirds platform and its mission.

Mockup of Instragram post shared by actor, Leonardo DiCaprio showing a luminescent hummingbird liked by 103k and with over 1000 comments

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