MOSCOW, February 7 (RIA Novosti) - Three bird species - the slender-billed curlew, the spoon-billed sandpiper and the golden bunting - are on the verge of extinction in Russia, Russian Bird Protection Union President Vitaly Zubakin said on Thursday.

Their numbers have seen “a disastrous decline,” he said, adding that the most serious losses occur while the migrating birds are in transit, especially in winter time.

The number of sparrows in Russia has also been declining, Zubakin said, adding, however, that “this is an all-European trend.”

Meanwhile, at least 10 new bird species have appeared in Russia in the past 20 years, he said, attributing this growth to a change in migration paths and “climatic imbalances.”

The Russian Bird Protection Union is an NGO established in February of 1993 and uniting some 2,000 ornithologists and thousands of bird lovers in Russia.