A recent study revealed that a bird species that was once found in abundance in Europe and Asia is near extinction because of Chinese eating habits.

The study published in the Conservation Biology journal on Tuesday showed that the population of the yellow- breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola) has dropped by 90% since 1980, making them almost disappear from Eastern Europe, Japan and large parts of Russia.

After seeing the initial population decline, China in 1997 banned the hunting of the species, known in the country as the ‘rice bird’.

The study stated that several millions of these birds, along with other songbirds were still killed by people for food and were even sold in the black market as of 2013.

It further showed that consumption of these birds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia.

Data showed that an estimate of nearly 1million buntings was consumed in China’s southern Guangdong province alone in 2001.

The birds breed in north of the Himalayas and spend their winters in warmer Southeast Asia, after passing through eastern China where they have been hunted for more than 2,000 years now.

The research team said that the birds at their wintering grounds, gather in huge flocks at night-time roosts, making them easy prey for trappers using net.

The paper in Conservation Biology drew parallels between the migratory bird and the North American passenger pigeon, which became extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting.

Lead author Dr. Johannes Kamp from the University of Munster, said, “The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds distributed over such a large area, with the exception of the passenger pigeon”.