The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) keeps a record of animals, fungi, and plants that are on the brink of extinction on their Red List of Threatened Species. There are more than 26,500 species that are threatened with extinction, including 14% of birds. Even though some species are at risk of becoming extinct, they can still make a comeback.

The northern bald ibis went from critically endangered to endangered this year

The northern bald ibis, from Morocco, was at an all-time low of 59 breeding pairs in 1998 because of hunting, pesticides, and loss of habitat, but today numbers have risen to 147 breeding pairs and the birds spread to two new breeding sites in 2017.

Though there is still work to be done to get the bird off the endangered list, conservationists have hope it will be possible to recover the northern bald ibis fully.

The pink pigeon went from endangered to vulnerable this year

By 1990, the pink pigeon, native to the island of Mauritius – the home of the extinct Dodo bird – had only 10 wild birds. After a decade of work to save the bird, conservationists were able to help the number of pink pigeons in the wild reach 300 and get the bird moved from critically endangered to endangered in 2000.

There were only 70 Lear’s macaw in the wild in the 1980s

Native to Brazil, the beautiful blue Lear’s Macaw was a popular victim of the pet trade. From the end of the 1970s to the late 1980s, the Lear’s Macaw population dropped significantly, to the point of there being only 70 known birds in the wild, according to the American Bird Conservancy.

In 1941, less than 20 whooping cranes existed in North America

The whooping crane, from North America, was highly hunted in the 1800s and suffered from habitat loss. A 1941 count found only 16 of the birds were still alive, according to National Geographic.

Conservation efforts, including captive breeding programs, have helped bring the number of whooping cranes back up. They are listed as endangered and according to the Red List, the population is increasing and the estimation of mature individual birds is between 50-249.

The trumpeter swan was once eradicated from Minnesota

During the Nineteenth Century, the trumpeter swan was so over-hunted for food and the fur trade that it completely disappeared from Minnesota, according to a press release from the state. According to Audubon.com, there were fewer then 100 trumpeter swans south of Canada by the 1930s.

However, thanks to protection from hunting and other conservations efforts including reintroducing the species to its breeding range across the northwest of North America, the swans are listed as Least Concern on the Red List and have even returned to Minnesota with numbers as high as 17,000.