Visitors on a recent tour of the Refúgio EcológicoCaiman,a respected ecolodgeand 148,000-acre (60,000-ha) nature reserve inSouth America’s Pantanal wetland, had just spotted a savanna hawk (Heterospizias meridionalis) and an Amazon kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona). Then, three cobalt-blue birds whizzed past their truck, tailed by two more. The lead trio headed toward a wooden box hanging high on a tree trunk. Not even the most agile and astute bird watcher can be expected to track all of the 650 species of birds that inhabit the vast Pantanal. But thanks to an extraordinarily successful conservation initiative, it’s getting easier to see birds of the type that streaked past the truck—the endangered hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), the world’s largest macaw. Just two decades ago... [Log in to read more]
