Ecobreves – CUBA: Saving a Native Bird

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HAVANA, Apr 14 2008 (IPS) - Researchers from the National Flora and Fauna Protection Agency in Villa Clara, 268 km from Havana, are promoting the recovery and conservation of the blue-headed quail-dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala), endemic in Cuba and in danger of extinction. The study, backed by the Qatar environmental group Al Wabra and Germany's Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Peoples, will help record the bird's food and reproductive habits and morphology.

One of the objectives is to achieve systematic reproduction of the quail-dove in captivity in order to reinsert the birds in their natural habitat, characterized by tropical jungles and lowlands, Orlando Alfonso, head of the three-year project, told Tierramérica.