June 23, 2003

Contact: Bradley Kemp, KU Natural History Museum, (785) 864-2344.

KU researchers help discover wild population of rare red siskins birds

LAWRENCE -- Researchers from the University of Kansas and the Smithsonian Institution have discovered in Guyana a sizable population of red siskins, a popular pet bird whose wild populations have declined drastically because of intense illegal trapping.

Mark B. Robbins, collection manager for birds at KU, and Michael J. Braun, curator of systematic biology at the Smithsonian, found the new population -- which may contain as many as a few thousand birds -- in April about 600 miles from the nearest previously known population. Although the bird, whose scientific name is Carduelis cucullata, once occurred widely from eastern Colombia through northern Venezuela, it now persists only in small, isolated populations. The species is listed as endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, the World Conservation Union, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Robbins and Braun, along with Davis W. Finch, founder and owner of the birdwatching tour company WINGS, report the finding in the current issue of Auk, the journal of the American Ornithologists' Union.

"This discovery offers new hope for the species' survival," Robbins said

The location of the newly discovered population was kept confidential to prevent trapping while the Guyanese government sought official protection for the red siskin. Guyana's Environmental Protection Agency, working with a coalition of conservation groups, academic institutions and corporations, implemented regulations to protect the red siskin population in May.

Those groups intend to secure the future of the red siskin through on-the-ground conservation efforts that combine strict controls on trapping, protected area designation, and public education and outreach.

"The pet trade has had a devastating impact on several Neotropical finches, including the siskin," Braun said. "Conservation and monitoring efforts must be put in place to ensure that healthy populations survive in the wild."

In May, Guyana forbade trade in the red siskin except for scientific purposes and for zoos, as do the member countries of CITES, including the United States. The Guyanese government added the red siskin to Schedule III of its Species Protection Regulations, originally passed in 1999. Schedule III lists native Guyanese plants and animals that are threatened with extinction.