eFinder

eFinder

Home › Conservation Urgency › Article

Birds of prey in South Africa are in trouble – a study analyses data from 16 years of road counts

The Conversation · · 1015 words · By Arjun Amar; Megan Murgatroyd; Santiago Zuluaga Castañeda
Conservation Urgency Environmental Impact of Human Growth Scientific Monitoring Methodology

The article discusses a study on raptor population trends in South Africa based on 16 years of road count data. It reports significant declines in 50% of the observed species and emphasizes the need for improved monitoring and conservation efforts to mitigate human-induced threats.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/birds-of-prey-in-south-africa-are-in-trouble-a-study…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
warning
Appeal to Fear 60% confidence
Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

17 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 7
info Single Source 5
check_circle Corroborated 4
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info
“raptor populations are declining faster [compared to many other bird species]”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in one web search result ('Birds of prey in South Africa are in trouble'), but other search results discuss general raptor threats or different species without confirming the specific comparative rate of decline against 'many other bird species'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Both are domesticated forms of the rock dove, and are a major prey species for peregrine populations. Due to their greater abundance in cities than most other birds, feral pigeons support many peregri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrine_falcon
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — However, compared to many other bird species, raptor populations are declining faster.Trends in raptor populations. According to our results, 42% of the assessed species declined by more than 50% in t…
https://www.modernghana.com/news/1491706/birds-of-prey-in-so…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Many other raptors are vulnerable to electrocution or collision with powerlines. But as with most bird species, unsustainable agriculture and logging are the primary threats.
https://www.spnl.org/new-report-over-half-the-worlds-raptors…
info
“Many countries in the global south host important populations of raptors but lack effective monitoring programmes.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in the source 'Birds of prey in South Africa are in trouble'. Other sources discuss the Global South generally but do not specifically mention raptor monitoring programmes.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The global south remains very poor relative to the north, and many countries continue to lack critical infrastructure and social services in health and education. Also, a great deal of political insta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_North_and_Global_South
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Many countries in the global south host important populations of raptors but lack effective monitoring programmes. Africa is an important continent for raptor diversity. Several studies across Africa …
https://theconversation.com/birds-of-prey-in-south-africa-ar…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — List of Global South countries with challenges in defining the Global South and explanation of what it is.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/global-so…
check_circle
“Ronelle Visagie... drove nearly 400,000 km... across the central area of South Africa... between 2009 and 2025, while she worked for the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm Ronelle Visagie's role with the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the scale of the road surveys (nearly 400,000 km) in South Africa.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ...Ronelle Visagie, who drove nearly 400,000 km (the distance from Earth to the moon) across the central area of South Africa (see map) between 2009 and 2025, while she worked for the Birds of Prey Pr…
https://theconversation.com/birds-of-prey-in-south-africa-ar…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A 16-year study of nearly 400,000 km of road surveys reveals widespread declines in South Africa’s raptors and other large birds, with half of the species showing significant population losses.
https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1119998
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Field biologist Ronelle Visagie of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, responsible for much of the field data collection, reflected on the painstaking nature of such work. The sustained effort involved ext…
https://bioengineer.org/long-term-road-surveys-uncover-exten…
info
“We had enough data to examine trends for 18 raptors and eight other large bird species over this period.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the evidence mentions the study and the 16-year period, the specific count of '18 raptors and eight other large bird species' is not explicitly confirmed in the provided snippets, although the total of 26 species is mentioned in other claims.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Trends in raptor populations. According to our results, 42% of the assessed species declined by more than 50% in the last 16 years. Notable declines included all of the three migratory species assesse…
https://theconversation.com/birds-of-prey-in-south-africa-ar…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The large and sensitive raptor species comprise a third group that has exhibited a population decrease during the past 25 years. The single pairs of the white-tailed and imperial eagles became extinct…
https://www.academia.edu/56810149/Diurnal_birds_of_prey_in_t…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Notes on seventy-nine species of birds observed in the neighborhood of Camp Harney, Oregon, compiled from the correspondence of Capt. Charles Bendire, 1st Cavalry U.S.A. Bos.
https://archive.org/stream/Raptorresearch18Rapt/Raptorresear…
check_circle
“These road counts revealed that 50% of the species (13 out of 26) declined significantly”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (the SSRN paper and the 'Birds of prey in South Africa' article) explicitly state that 50% of the species (13 out of 26) declined significantly.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Great Seal of the United States features several groupings which consist of 13 things of the same type e.g. 13 olive leaves, 13 stars, 13 arrows. The number 13 is a recurring motif in American her…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Welcome to our About The Number 13 page, where we explore the fascinating and mysterious world surrounding this often misunderstood integer. Delve into the history, superstitions, cultural significanc…
https://numeraly.com/about-the-number-13/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sep 13, 2013 · But what’s so unlucky about the number 13, and how did this numerical superstition get started?
https://www.history.com/articles/whats-so-unlucky-about-the-…
check_circle
“only three species (12%) showed significant increases.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources explicitly state that only three species (12%) showed significant increases.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international football and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. Nic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_national_soccer_t…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_South_Africans
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
“The remaining ten species (38%) showed no significant trends”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources explicitly state that the remaining ten species (38%) showed no significant trends.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu homeland, a black homeland, a black state or simply known as a homeland; Afrikaans: Bantoestan or tuisland) was a territory that the National Party administration of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantustan
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_South_Africans
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“42% of the assessed species declined by more than 50% in the last 16 years.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific figure of 42% declining by more than 50% in the last 16 years is found in the 'Birds of prey in South Africa' source. Another source mentions 42% decline in Costa Rica, which is a different study and not corroboration.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — According to our results, 42% of the assessed species declined by more than 50% in the last 16 years. Notable declines included all of the three migratory species assessed (lesser kestrel, amur ...
https://theconversation.com/birds-of-prey-in-south-africa-ar…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A twelve-year study in Costa Rica's human-dominated agricultural countryside found that 42% of bird populations declined over the study period, with most of these declines occurring in more specialise…
https://datazone.birdlife.org/articles/birds-are-in-decline-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Given the degree of integration of bird indicators into national and international policies (Gregory and van Strien, 2010), the present study represents a systematic review of recent scientific litera…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2…
info
“Notable declines included all of the three migratory species assessed (lesser kestrel, amur falcon and steppe buzzard).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim regarding the lesser kestrel, amur falcon, and steppe buzzard is mentioned in the 'Birds of prey in South Africa' source, but no other independent sources were found to corroborate this specific list of declines.
help
“We also found declines of several resident raptors, including jackal buzzard, Verreaux’s eagle and secretarybird. Populations of these species declined by over 50% in our study region.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results that mentions the specific declines of the jackal buzzard, Verreaux’s eagle, and secretarybird.
schedule
“populations of white-necked raven, greater kestrels, and white-backed vulture increased.”
PENDING
schedule
“the white-backed vulture is a critically endangered species”
PENDING
schedule
“our findings of large declines for secretarybird and lesser kestrel were very similar to those reported in Kenya and Botswana.”
PENDING
schedule
“similar population changes for secretarybird were detected... in the Nama Karoo... (a 61% decline between the late 1980s and early 2010s).”
PENDING
schedule
“Species with consistent trends between the methods included amur falcon and lesser kestrel – both showing declines – and greater kestrel and white-backed vulture – both showing increases.”
PENDING
schedule
“Species with inconsistent trends... included Ludwig’s bustard, blue crane, secretarybird, black-winged kite, and southern pale chanting goshawk.”
PENDING
schedule
“projected human population growth in Africa (79%)”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.