ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that conservationists regularly prioritise rare species over common or abundant species. It considers rarity with respect to 'artificially' rare species and 'naturally' rare species. The chapter argues that rarity, as an experience is a source of value. For a more tangible, though hypothetical example, consider the magpie, one of Britain's most common bird species, and increasing in many areas. 'Species' and 'individual' may be being conflated: conservationists might value the magpie as a species but attach negative value to the individuals that are thought to endanger garden birds. Non-rare species will have other things about them than mode of being that are special, such as, say, an interesting life history, or an intricate relationship with another species. In the vast majority of cases in which conservationists concern themselves with rare species, the species is 'artificially' rare; it is, to some degree or other, endangered.
