Rare bird being eaten to extinction in China

Dwindling population: The yellow-breasted bunting is being hunted to near extinction because of Chinese eating habits, according to a recent study. — AFP

BEIJING: A bird that was once one of the most abundant in Europe and Asia is being hunted to near extinction because of Chinese eating habits, according to a recent study.

The population of the yellow-breasted bunting has plunged by 90% since 1980, all but disappearing from eastern Europe, Japan and large parts of Russia, said the study, published yesterday in the Conservation Biology journal.