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<\/a>Yet it continues to be hunted illegally for its unique red-and-black plumage, used as a fashion accessory. Bird breeders also seek out the species, looking to produce a red hybrid of a canary. (Both birds belong to the same family of finches, Fringillidae.) Most recently, pet owners have pursued them for their song and beauty, with markets spanning from the West Indies to the United States.<\/p>\n
The news of a new population in Guyana made waves among scientists and conservationists. \u201cThere was no information about the bird in the region,\u201d says Leroy Ignacio, an Indigenous Macushi who helped in the early days of the Red Siskin Initiative, which Smithsonian scientists Mike Brown and Kathryn Rodriguez-Clark started soon after sighting the birds. \u201cWe got to work collecting data on bird population, active nests, and their habits.\u201d<\/p>\n
The collaborative experience encouraged local communities to establish the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS) to protect the species. Ignacio is now the society\u2019s president. \u201cWe are not biologists with techniques and methodologies or anything like that,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are local villagers, farmers and teachers who wanted to use our abilities to become the guardians of this species.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization established one of the country\u2019s first conservation zones to protect the species, covering 75,000 hectares (185,000 acres) of Indigenous land. This past June, Ignacio won a prestigious Whitley Fund for Nature award to expand the area and strengthen its monitoring, management and sustainability.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still trying to determine precisely the number of active birds in the region, as they can move long distances,\u201d Ignacio tells Mongabay. \u201cBut we have been maintaining a stable population, and that\u2019s already a success.\u201d<\/p>\n The pet trade continues to be one of the biggest threats to the red siskin. As news broke about the population in South Rupununi, illegal traders flocked to the region. \u201cAlmost immediately, birds started going missing,\u201d Ignacio says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interest in this species, especially from neighboring Venezuela, where it\u2019s practically extinct.\u201d<\/p>\n Traders often hire local community members to capture the birds from the wild. The job has become attractive in recent years as Guyana\u2019s cost of living skyrocketed after a big oil boom. \u201cEach red siskin can sell for $400, even though local trappers will keep only a small portion of that amount,\u201d Ignacio says.<\/p>\n The organization created a brigade to monitor the forest for smugglers and deter illegal activity. \u201cWe go out in groups and search hotspots for days at a time,\u201d Ignacio says. \u201cWe report incidents to the village council and try to get information about who is trying to purchase and sell the birds from the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n They also want to encourage locals to earn a living from conservation. In recent years, they\u2019ve provided training in various skills, from project management to storytelling, with a goal of building up an ecotourism industry that will protect the red siskin while also sustaining the community.<\/p>\n The SRCS has also taken on the task of mitigating the increasingly destructive wildfires that threaten the bird\u2019s habitat. In 2016, wildfires were responsible for almost 40% of all tree loss in Guyana. In 2018, a report by the Guyana Forestry Commission found that fires had become one of the country\u2019s primary causes of deforestation.<\/p>\n In South Rupununi, uncontrolled fires can burn through the red siskin\u2019s nesting sites and feeding trees. \u201cThe birds like these little forest islands in the middle of the savanna, which are quite vulnerable to fires,\u201d says Kayla de Freitas, program coordinator of the SRCS. \u201cThese sites will typically burn to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n While the vegetation eventually regenerates, the birds are forced away for months at a time. \u201cIn a particularly hot and dry season, they have no refuge. That poses a big threat for the population,\u201d de Freitas says.<\/p>\n She attributes the increase in uncontrolled fires to climate change and changes in land use. \u201cPeople are planting cash crops such as peanuts and cassava. These are monocultures that use more land and fire and leave less time for reforestation,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The SRCS has been working to bring back traditional fire strategies to safely renew farming soil, promote biodiversity, and prevent larger burns.<\/p>\n In 2019, the organization partnered with a United Nations program to train a local fire brigade on carrying out prescribed burns and monitoring active fires, also known as \u201cfire chasing\u201d \u2014 strategies that have been making a comeback. \u201cWe are looking for funding to continue and expand these efforts to protect the red siskin\u2019s habitat,\u201d de Freitas says.<\/p>\n For community leaders, it\u2019s increasingly clear that the future of the red siskin lies with their children. \u201cWe want them to become rangers, geologists and conservation managers that will continue this work,\u201d says Alyssa Melville, environmental education coordinator with the SRCS.<\/p>\n To plant the seeds of conservation, they\u2019ve implemented an after-school program in more than 16 communities, teaching about the red siskin, including its habitat and threats to the population.<\/p>\n The lessons offer a mixture of traditional and scientific knowledge. The children are introduced to ecological research and surveying, and also learn about Indigenous culture and tradition, including fire management skills.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of all, we want to instill in these kids an appreciation for green spaces and wildlife,\u201d Melville tells Mongabay. \u201cWhen you think of Indigenous communities, they already live within nature. But many youth have seen their communities develop and their environment change, with buildings coming up all around them.\u201d<\/p>\n The curriculum has been so successful that Melville was recently invited to travel to two other regions of Guyana interested in implementing similar projects. She says she hopes the community\u2019s love for conservation is spreading across the country. \u201cIt\u2019s common for kids to know that elephants, sharks or rhinos are being threatened, you know? But what about the wildlife right here in our backyard?\u201d<\/p>\nAnti-smuggling patrols<\/h2>\n
Uncontrolled burning<\/h2>\n
The next generations<\/h2>\n