Signs of hope for threatened stone-curlew

Numbers of one of England's rarest farmland birds have more than doubled in the past two decades, conservationists said today.

In the 1980s there were just 160 pairs of stone-curlews in the UK, all found in southern and eastern England, the RSPB said.

But this year, 370 pairs of the ground-nesting bird are known to have bred - a recovery in numbers which the RSPB puts down to efforts by conservation groups and farmers.

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The dove-sized, long-legged wading bird increased its population by 11 pairs on last year's total this year, and breeding success jumped from 164 chicks in 2009 to 240 chicks in 2010.

The stone-curlew, which is more common in southern Europe and is at the northern edge of its range in southern Britain, is mostly found in Wessex, particularly around Salisbury Plain, and in the Brecklands on the Norfolk and Suffolk border.

Dr Mark Avery of the RSPB said: "Farmers have rallied to the cause of the stone-curlew and the bird's UK recovery owes much to their support."

However, the conservation charity is concerned over the future of the bird's recovery following the "squeezing" of funding for wildlife-friendly farming schemes in the recent Comprehensive Spending Review.