Meet the 100 Weirdest and Most endangered Birds

The comic dodo, the stately great auk, the passenger pigeon blotting out the skies, the giant moas reigning over New Zealand: humankind has wiped out nearly 200 species of birds in the last five hundred years. Birds we'll never get back. Now, if we don't act soon we'll add many new ones to the list: birds such as the giant ibis, the plains-wanderer, and the crow honey-eater. These are just a few of the birds that appear on the long-awaited EDGE list of the world's 100 strangest and most endangered birds. 

Below are just a tiny sample of 10 of those weird and endangered bird species:

 1. 

Spoon-billed sandpiper chick. The spoon-billed sandpiper is number 11 on the list having been decimated by hunting and coastal development. Less than 200 pairs survive today. 

Photo by: Simon Buckell. 

2.

This Brilliant hummingbird is found on a single island in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago. Photo by: Peter Hodum.

3. 

The Kakapo, a flightless parrot from New Zealand, is number four on the EDGE Birds List. Photo by: Shane Mcinnes. 

4. 

The world's most evolutionary distinct bird: the Oilbird. This one was photographed in Humboldt's Cave, Venezuela. Photo by: Walter Jetz. 

5. 

Number one on the EDGE list: the Giant ibis. Photo by: Omaliss Keo. 

6. 

The Greater adjutant, number 73 on the list, is found in Central and Southeast Asia. Only 800-1,200 are left due to loss of nesting wetlands. Photo by: Ben Fitzgerald.

The Greater adjutant, number 73 on the list, is found in Central and Southeast Asia. Only 800-1,200 are left due to loss of nesting wetlands. Photo by: Ben Fitzgerald.

7. 

The impressive Philippine eagle is number eight on the list. Photo by: Alain Pascua. 

8. 

The Northern bald ibis almost went extinct before heavily-managed conservation efforts have brought it back from the brink. Today a few hundred animals survive. Photo by: Heather Burgess.

9. 

Despite its name the Crow honeyeater is not a crow. This bizarre species is one of 22 species found only on the island of New Caledonia. It's number 85 on the EDGE list. Photo by: Richard Fuller

Despite its name the Crow honeyeater is not a crow. This bizarre species is one of 22 species found only on the island of New Caledonia. It's number 85 on the EDGE list. Photo by: Richard Fuller

10. 

Number 28, the Secretarybird is found across sub-Saharan Africa and kills venomous snakes by repeatedly stepping on their heads. Despite being an iconic species and in decline, no conservation efforts are working specifically to save the species. Photo by: Dries Nys. 

Source: mongabay.com