Grainy images that are great news for rare Colombian bird

Camera trap images of mum and her chick

September 2010: They are black-and-white and rather fuzzy - but these camera trap images are the latest in encouraging news for those working to save the blue-billed curassow in El Paujil Reserve in Colombia.

ENCOURAGING: The camera trap photographs of the blue-billed curassow and her chick

By safeguarding a 1,200-hectare remnant of humid lowland forest in the Magdalena valley, this reserve provides critical habitat for a core population of Colombia's critically endangered curassow, known locally as El Paujil. An important symbol in ancient Pre-Colombian indigenous culture, this bird was virtually unknown to outsiders until an expedition in 2003 located a viable population here, after which the reserve was created.

Regular monitoring has shown that the curassow population has increased by 20 per cent each year since the establishment of the reserve - and this year further encouragement came when the team found five birds in places they had previously seen only one.

Even more rewarding are the recent and unpublished records of a female with her chick in this area which represents a substantial recovery in plant cover and density of the species - after they were captured on film by a camera trap.

A ProAves spokesman said: ‘It is very encouraging and shows that committed and conscientious work can achieve great results that ultimately trigger the recovery of our natural wealth by becoming an example of conservation for the world.'

Courtesy of Proaves