See also 2019 in birding and ornithology, main events of 2020 and 2021 in birding and ornithology The year 2020 in birding and ornithology. Worldwide New species See also Bird species new to science described in the 2020s Taxonomic developments Ornithologists Deaths World listings Africa Guinea-Bissau Up to 1250 vultures were found dead by poisoning in Guinea-Bissau, with many beheaded, suggesting the body parts were harvested for ritual or medicinal purposes. Among the species killed were the critically endangered hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus). Asia India The critically endangered great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) has been added to Appendix 1 of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. The formerly widespread and abundant bird has disappeared from 90% of its former range and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change plans to declare all great Indian bustard habitats, conservation reserves and to bury power lines underground in those areas. Myanmar The government quadrupled the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar site to 161,030 ha. The gulf has one of the largest congregations of shorebirds in Southeast Asia with over 90,000 overwintering, and surveys by BANCA (BirdLife in Myanmar) found the gulf to be the single most important site for the critically endangered, spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea). Europe Britain Natural England granted licences to three falconers, to take up to six peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) from the nests of wild birds for falconry. Conditions include, nests must have at least three chicks and only the smallest chick can be removed. Chicks cannot be removed from upland areas where persecution of birds of prey is still a risk. Scottish Natural Heritage turned down a similar application. Breeding birds The tern colony at Blakeney Point, Norfolk had its most successful breeding season in 25 years, attributed to the lack of visitors the area due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2425 pairs of Sandwich terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis) fledged 1100 chicks, triple the number in 2019 289 pairs of common tern (Sterna hirundo) fledged 170 chicks, the highest since 1999 more than 200 little tern (Sternula albifrons) chicks fledged, the most since 1994. Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) failed to breed at Long Nanny, Northumberland; their only breeding failure since they first nested here in 1980. Reasons for the failure include, exceptionally high tides in June which washed away some of the nests, predation by stoats and rats, and disturbance by people and a loose