Lost Cuckoo Breaks Its Silence

One of the world's rarest, most secretive birds has emerged from the jungle with two loud calls. The Sumatran ground cuckoo, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, was captured by a trapper and handed over to a team of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologists. The biologists created the world's first recording of the bird's scream-like call.

"We were extremely lucky to have recorded the bird's unique call," said Firdaus Rahman, of WCS's Indonesia Program. "Our team will use the recording to hopefully locate other Sumatran ground cuckoos, and to eventually secure their protection." The recording will also help the biologists in evaluating the bird's total population. Ornithologists frequently use recorded birdcalls to aid them in identifying species.

Sumatran ground cuckoos have sturdy legs and green bills and are relatively large, about half a meter (20 inches) in size, with long tails. Until this latest rescue, the bird was known only by a handful of specimens collected during the past century. In fact, ornithologists feared the bird was extinct until 1997, when a single individual was spotted. Last year, a remote camera trap photographed a second bird. The cuckoo is now thought to becritically endangered.

Currently in the care of the scientists, the vocal cuckoo is nursing an injured foot. Once fully recovered, it will be released back into northern Bukit Baresan Selatan National Park, where it was originally captured.

WCS operates field conservation projects throughout Indonesia, and works with local partners to safeguard this archipelago's amazing wildlife. The WCS project to return the Sumatran ground cuckoo to the wild is being supported by the Swedish 300 Club Foundation for Bird Protection.


Posted by: Kelly    Source