10 bird species that need our help now
Blue-eyed Ground-Dove
Adjacent to the Atlantic Forest lies the cerrado, or tropical savanna, another highly imperiled ecosystem that’s home to the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove. Unseen for 74 years, this species was presumed extinct until 2015, when a Brazilian ornithologist flushed one out upon hearing an unfamiliar call.
Local and international conservation groups immediately sprang into action, purchasing a reserve that safeguarded the area from being mined for iron ore. Concurrently, the state government established an 88,175-acre park. All known Blue-eyed Ground-Doves now reside on protected land.
As Bennett Hennessey, American Bird Conservancy’s Brazil program coordinator, points out, however, the state park lacks funding. “This is a poor rural area, and so protection will not happen like in the USA,” Hennessey says, adding that it’s “very important” for conservation groups to be involved in the management plan, which may soon include a captive-breeding program.
Much about the bird remains a mystery. Scientists don’t yet even know its exact habitat preferences, nor do they understand why it seemingly struggles to reproduce (one theory holds that it depends on a rare plant for nesting material).
Adjacent to the Atlantic Forest lies the cerrado, or tropical savanna, another highly imperiled ecosystem that’s home to the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove. Unseen for 74 years, this species was presumed extinct until 2015, when a Brazilian ornithologist flushed one out upon hearing an unfamiliar call.
Local and international conservation groups immediately sprang into action, purchasing a reserve that safeguarded the area from being mined for iron ore. Concurrently, the state government established an 88,175-acre park. All known Blue-eyed Ground-Doves now reside on protected land.
As Bennett Hennessey, American Bird Conservancy’s Brazil program coordinator, points out, however, the state park lacks funding. “This is a poor rural area, and so protection will not happen like in the USA,” Hennessey says, adding that it’s “very important” for conservation groups to be involved in the management plan, which may soon include a captive-breeding program.
Much about the bird remains a mystery. Scientists don’t yet even know its exact habitat preferences, nor do they understand why it seemingly struggles to reproduce (one theory holds that it depends on a rare plant for nesting material).
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21 February 2022
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