Illegal capture threatens rare bird

The once-abundant yellow-breasted bunting - often listed on menus as "rice bird" - has been reclassified as critically endangered on the red list of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

That is one step from the highest levels of "extinct in the wild" and "extinct".

Its decline has become extreme in the past decade, likely driven by excessive trapping at migration and wintering sites, according to the IUCN, which released the list on Tuesday.