On August 27, 2026, the LPO Bretagne released findings from two years of acoustic monitoring, confirming that no male stone curlew had responded to calls in Brittany. Despite extensive research and hundreds of hours of listening, the species has disappeared from the region. The return of a male singer of this umbrella species, which once thrived in the area, now seems unlikely. The silence marks the end of decades of presence in the Breton countryside. A dozen volunteers, employees, and advanced listening equipment deployed across dozens of carefully selected locations have failed to detect the characteristic song of the stone curlew, which was once a familiar sound in the region. The research focused on areas historically favorable for the species, including the Vilaine Valley, the east of the Rance in Ille-et-Vilaine, and Guissény in north Finistère. Automatic recorders were used every night, from dusk to dawn, for two months of electronic monitoring. The result was zero songs. "We had hope. But we found nothing," said Corentin Morvan, a study officer at LPO Bretagne. This finding contrasts with the bird's ancient presence in the region, with confirmed nesters documented as early as 1964 in Finistère and in the 1970s in the Vilaine Valley. Sixty years later, the cycle has closed—but in the wrong direction. The stone curlew is a rare and elusive bird, nearly invisible to the naked eye due to its brownish-red striped plumage with black markings, which blends with tall grasses in wet meadows. It prefers to remain hidden, and its presence is usually detected by its distinctive call. Males sing from elevated positions, such as rocks or branches, repeating their crex crex call all night to attract females. This vocal behavior has become the only reliable way to detect the species in the wild. The decline of the stone curlew in Brittany mirrors a national trend. In 2026, only 60 to 80 male singers were recorded in France, representing a 97% drop since the 1980s. In the 1980s, about 2,450 male singers were counted across the country, but numbers have plummeted to 64 to 77 individuals by 2022. The threshold of 70 singers has already been crossed, making the species one of the most threatened in French bird fauna. The primary cause of this decline is agricultural mowing. Stone curlews nest directly on the ground, and early mowing can destroy eggs and young birds that are not yet able to fly. According to LPO, mowing done too early can destroy up to 95% of nests. A simple shift of about 30 days in mowing schedules would allow young birds to fly before the machines pass. Agricultural practices have changed dramatically in one generation, with meadows now mowed three times a year compared to once 40 years ago. France has also lost half of its wet meadows in 50 years—precisely the habitats the stone curlew depends on. A national action plan, running until 2033, aims to address these issues by protecting meadows, supporting farmers in adopting more sustainable practices, and delaying mowing in key areas. This plan has already shown success in other regions, such as Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where 2025 was a record year for the species. However, in Brittany, the absence of a resident population means these measures cannot be applied as effectively. The stone curlew is a migratory bird that winters in southeast Africa and returns each spring to mate and nest in increasingly scarce and increasingly early-mowed meadows. Classified as endangered on the French Red List, it represents the fate of many other wet meadow species that are vanishing from rural landscapes.