“I got a photo of the bird before I even saw it.” This colorful, lost bird species hasn’t been seen in 13 years. The “best photos ever taken of this bird” hint that conservation efforts are working
Researchers working in a West African rainforest captured photos of a vulnerable bird species for the first time since 2013
In West Africa’s Côte d’Ivoire Taï National Park, researchers recently captured what they believe are the best photos ever taken of a bird species that hasn’t been seen in 13 years: the Ghana cuckooshrike. Field research fellows Paulo Ditzel and Stephanie Bartlett, nearing the end of a six-month expedition with the International Bird Conservation Partnership, first spotted the vibrant orange, yellow, and black-feathered bird while scanning the tree canopy.
Ditzel relayed the bird’s location to Bartlett, who managed to capture photos of the elusive species before it disappeared into the canopy again, just as Ditzel returned with the rest of the team.
The Ghana cuckooshrike, which spends much of its time in the forest canopy, is a vulnerable species that has been difficult to photograph due to its habitat and wariness of humans. The new photos and videos of the species suggest that conservation efforts in the region, particularly in Taï National Park, may be working and helping to recover the lost bird.
The bird’s preference for thick canopies and the shrinking size of the Upper Guinean rainforest, due to logging and agriculture, mean that further conservation efforts are necessary to protect this rare species.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Camera World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
