BirdLife International, as the IUCN Red List Authority for birds, continually collates up-to-date information on Globally Threatened Birds from the published literature and from a worldwide network of experts. This information is used to evaluate the status of each species for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The purpose of the Forums is to provide an opportunity for both professionals and amateurs, for birdwatchers, researchers and conservationists, to contribute information on globally threatened birds relevant to the assessment of their threat status and their conservation. Contributors can also suggest new species whose status may need reviewing, share information on species that are listed as Data Deficient, or propose taxonomic rearrangements.