Some 178 species are endangered or in decline, new list says. That’s up 11 percent from five years ago. With birds increasingly hammered by climate change, habitat loss, and a host of other threats, the list of US species in dire trouble is getting longer. Unlike many still common ‘backyard bird’ species whose notable declines were documented in a national study this spring, the much-less familiar species on the new ‘2007 WatchList for US Birds’ released yesterday are considered in danger of extinction or in very serious decline. Some 178 species made this year’s watch list, up 11 percent from five years ago. The masked booby, wandering tattler, and Mexican chickadee are among 12 new species added to the US watch list, which is compiled every five years by the National Audubon Society in New York and the American Bird Conservancy in Washington, both of which are conservation groups. ‘The watch list sounds a real warning,’ said David Pashley, director of conservation programs for the American Bird Conservancy and a coauthor of the list, in a statement. Many consider the ultimate warning list to be the federal Endangered Species list maintained by the US Fish […]