10 bird species that need our help now
Antioquia Brushfinch
Where it lives: Colombia
Estimated population: 100
In 2018, an agronomist walking to Mass in the Colombian Andes, not far from the city of Medellín, made a thrilling discovery: He spotted and photographed an Antioquia Brushfinch, a towhee-like species previously known only from museum specimens.
As it turned out, the brushfinch was barely scraping by on a few isolated strips of scrubland surrounded on all sides by cattle pasture and crops. “Most of the habitat is just hammered,” says Wendy Willis, deputy director of international programs at American Bird Conservancy, who has twice visited Colombia on behalf of the brushfinch. “You drive around, and you feel like you’re on a huge golf course.”
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which put everything on hold, conservationists were racing to identify the best remaining brushfinch habitat; their goal is to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to preserve it. They likewise hope to work with landowners on habitat enhancement. Time is running short: Already, the site of the bird’s original discovery has been converted for agriculture.
To solicit donations for brushfinch conservation, Willis hiked almost 400 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2019, after which she dyed her hair the same rufous color as the brushfinch’s crown. “You have to have an element of humor,” Willis says, adding that “there’s a real opportunity to do something and make a difference here.”
The case of a close relative, the Pale-headed Brushfinch of Ecuador, offers some hope. Once down to a couple dozen birds, that population has since bounced back to around 250.
Where it lives: Colombia
Estimated population: 100
In 2018, an agronomist walking to Mass in the Colombian Andes, not far from the city of Medellín, made a thrilling discovery: He spotted and photographed an Antioquia Brushfinch, a towhee-like species previously known only from museum specimens.
As it turned out, the brushfinch was barely scraping by on a few isolated strips of scrubland surrounded on all sides by cattle pasture and crops. “Most of the habitat is just hammered,” says Wendy Willis, deputy director of international programs at American Bird Conservancy, who has twice visited Colombia on behalf of the brushfinch. “You drive around, and you feel like you’re on a huge golf course.”
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, which put everything on hold, conservationists were racing to identify the best remaining brushfinch habitat; their goal is to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to preserve it. They likewise hope to work with landowners on habitat enhancement. Time is running short: Already, the site of the bird’s original discovery has been converted for agriculture.
To solicit donations for brushfinch conservation, Willis hiked almost 400 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2019, after which she dyed her hair the same rufous color as the brushfinch’s crown. “You have to have an element of humor,” Willis says, adding that “there’s a real opportunity to do something and make a difference here.”
The case of a close relative, the Pale-headed Brushfinch of Ecuador, offers some hope. Once down to a couple dozen birds, that population has since bounced back to around 250.
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21 February 2022
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