Protecting A Rare Bird

In an effort to protect a large grassland bird from possible extinction, the government of Cambodia has recently moved to set aside more than one hundred square miles of habitat for the Bengal florican, a bird now classified as endangered, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

The Bengal florican is a largely terrestrial bird that is mostly black in color with white wings. It vocalizes in croaks and a deep, humming sound during its courtship displays.

The bird--a type of bustard--is restricted to tiny fragments of grassland scattered across Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal and India, which are threatened by land conversion for industrial-scale agriculture.

The new network of protected areas covers more than 100 square miles near Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake, home to what is thought to be the world's largest remaining population of floricans. Protecting grasslands is also crucial for local human communities, who in turn help to maintain the quality of the habitat through traditional grazing, burning and scrub-clearance.

---LiveScience Staff

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Credit: WCS