Rare Bird, Alive and Well and Living in Colombia

The first-ever photograph of the Santa Marta sabrewing.
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Published: April 12, 2010


The mountainous area around Santa Marta, on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is a biological hotspot of sorts, filled with bird species that are found nowhere else.

“It’s just chock-full of these rare endemic birds,” said Michael Parr, vice president of American Bird Conservancy, which works to protect wild birds and their habitat in the Americas. Among the species found there is a hummingbird, the Santa Marta sabrewing.

Rare birds in isolated habitats can be a recipe for extinction, and while there had been a few unconfirmed sightings of the sabrewing in recent years, the bird’s existence had not been documented for decades. Until March 24, that is, when a researcher studying migratory birds, Laura Cárdenas, caught one in a mist net, banded it and took its picture before releasing it. It’s the first photograph ever of a Santa Marta sabrewing.

“She had a little bit of luck,” Mr. Parr said. “The bird just flew into the net, completely by chance.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/science/13obbird.html

I hope that the bird can save his own species.