Popularly called by the Chinese as "rice birds," the population of the yellow-breasted bunting has immensely decreased since the '80s. And in a recently published study, the once-abundant bird species is being feared of going extinct because of the increasing desires of the Chinese for its meat.

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In large parts of Russia, Japan and Eastern Europe, the yellow-breasted buntings that are scientifically known as Emberiza aureole, have notably vanished. As published in the Conservation Biology journal on Tuesday, the study revealed that millions of these birds and other songbirds are still being hunted by human for their meat, with most of them being illegally sold in the black market, NDTV Food stated.

Despite prohibiting the hunting of the yellow-breasted bunting in 1997 after noting that the first population plunged, statistics showed that the Chinese were and still are fond of eating the bunting's meat. NYC Today revealed that almost a million buntings were consumed in China's southern province of Guangdong in 2001.

For over two millennia, the yellow-breasted bunting has been hunted down in China. And since the birds usually gather in huge flocks at night-time roots at their wintering grounds, they became an easy target for hunters.

Lead study author Dr. Johannes Kamp, of the University of Munster, said high levels of illegal hunting appear to be the cause of the rapidly diminishing population of the yellow-breasted bunting.

"The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds distributed over such a large area, with the exception of the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting," Kamp added.

Since the buntings are being feared of going extinct, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classified these elusive songbirds as "endangered" since 2013.

In order to spare the yellow-breasted bunting from extinction, Birdlife International Senior Conservation Officer Simba Chan urged Chinese bird lovers and watchers to play their part in the preservation of the now endangered birds.

Chan explained that educating the people of the ramifications of eating wildlife is also a significant way that can halt the decreasing population of the buntings. He also added that a better and more efficient law enforcement reporting system can also be useful.   

Meanwhile, the increase in the demand for the meat of the yellow-breasted bunting for human consumption is allegedly the result of East Asia's economic growth and emergent prosperity, Inquisitr reported.

For now, only time will tell if China can finally address the worrying slump in the population of the yellow-breasted bunting across the region by mobilizing its citizens for conservation action.

TagsBuntings, Birds, endangered species, extinction, Science, Yellow-Breasted Buntings