August 23, 2018, University of East Anglia
One of the rarest birds in the western hemisphere, the Bahama Nuthatch, has been rediscovered by research teams searching the island of Grand Bahama.
The finding is particularly significant because the species had been feared extinct following the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and had not been found in subsequent searches.
But it is feared that there could only be two left—placing the species on the verge of extinction and certainly among the world's most critically endangered birds.
The Bahama Nuthatch is an endangered species, only known from a small area of native pine forest on Grand Bahama Island, which lies approximately 100 miles off Palm Beach, Florida.
University of East Anglia masters students Matthew Gardner and David Pereira set out on a three-month expedition to find this and other endemic Caribbean pine forest bird species.
They made their way through dense forest with thick 'poisonwood' understorey—the layer of vegetation growing beneath the main forest canopy—in what is thought to be one of the most exhaustive searches of the island.
They worked in partnership with Nigel Collar and David Wege from Birdlife International and the Bahamas National Trust, the organisation which works to protect the habitats and species of The Bahama Islands.
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