Watch: Scientists seek help finding 126 missing bird species

Scientists are asking birders and the public at large to help track down birds that they haven’t documented in decades. The team compiled a list of lost birds using published studies and citizen science apps like iNaturalist and eBird. The list includes species like the Jamaican pauraque (Siphonorhis americana), which hasn’t been seen in 163 years, and the Ghana cuckooshrike (Lobotos lobatus), last seen 13 years ago. Some of these birds may be extinct, but others may still be out there but just haven’t been documented. Since the researchers published the list as part of a study in June—which was based on research conducted two years earlier—the public has rediscovered some of the species on this list, such as the Santa Marta sabrewing (Campylopterus phainopeplus) of Colombia, missing for 12 years, and the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps insularis) of Papua New Guinea, undocumented for more than 120 years. Some 126 lost birds remain on the list.

Read more at Smithsonian Magazine.