Surfbirds News

When we replied, “So you wouldn’t mind if the last Ivory-bills were collected?” he immediately recoiled and said emphatically, “Yes, I would!” Collecting the last Ivory-bills may sound absurd, but elsewhere in the world, species that are down to tiny populations are still being collected.

ABC believes that from this point forward, the world’s rarest birds should not be collected, especially given recent advances in genetics and digital recording media. As an ethical foundation to collecting, the survival of a species or subspecies should take precedence over the reference value of a skin or specimen. We were struck by some recent examples that provoked our thinking on this topic.

On 6 January 2004, a team of biologists from ABC’s Colombian partner group, Fundación ProAves, trapped a distinctive brush-finch during an exploration of the Yariguíes mountains. The description of the bird, now recognized as a subspecies new to science, was published in June 2006 in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club. The description is noteworthy in that the type specimen was released unharmed after a DNA sample and photographs had been taken. It was the first time a live type specimen had been used for the description of a new bird in the Americas, and follows last year’s approval of the technique by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

By contrast, a collecting expedition conducted by another institution during the summer of 2006 visited a previously little studied region of northern Peru, and following up on reports of the Endangered Jocotoco Antpitta there, collected two of only three known individuals in Peru. Even with the most optimistic estimations of the Ecuadorian population, this represents at least 1% of the species ‘ maximum global population of 200 birds - perhaps much more - and two-thirds of the known, recently-discovered Peruvian population.

Jocotoco Antpitta, Ecuador, Tapichalaca 11 May 2007 © Mark Harper

In another recent case, approximately seven Recurve-billed Bushbirds were collected in Santander, Colombia, shortly after this Endangered species was discovered there in 2005. The bushbird had been lost to science for forty years, before being rediscovered in western Venezuela in 2004, and then in Colombia the following year. Despite its rarity, this species is already well represented in the world’s museum collections from historical specimens.

Given that habitat loss is the most significant threat to most species, why is it important that we also consider the mortality of what might be only be a tiny fraction of their populations caused by collecting? Firstly, for some species it is not at all clear how large their populations are, and the loss of genetic diversity caused by the removal of even a few individuals could be costly. Also, the most easily accessible sites for rare species are where collections are most likely to take place; these are also likely to be the sites where ecotourism based around these species could help to pay for habitat protection. More importantly though, as demonstrated by the Colombian brush-finch example, the collection of these specimens is no longer necessary to establish the validity of species (ABC believes that potentially new species should be assumed rare until proven otherwise).

ABC and others are investing significantly in the conservation of species, such as those mentioned above, many of which are teetering on the brink of global extinction. It is a philosophical contradiction for national governments and conservation organizations and their donors to invest in protecting these birds while others are shooting them for collections. It is ABC’s mission to ensure these species survive. In recognition of the contribution to ornithological knowledge that collecting has made historically, we begin our approach to this issue by calling on our friends in conservation and ornithology to suggest how we might find common ground that both enables us to advance science and protect species. We look forward to hearing from you with your views on this topic.