QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands have welcomed 12 new chicks of the Little Vermilion Flycatcher bird species, the national park said on Thursday, a record boost since conservation to protect the bird, which is endemic to the islands, began.
The population of Little Vermilion Flycatchers – also known as Darwin’s Flycatcher or “witch bird” in Spanish – had dropped dramatically in recent years on Santa Cruz Island, leaving just 15 adult pairs, according to conservation organizations.
The species (Pyrocephalus nanus) is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Adding 12 new witch bird chicks into its population structure guarantees that this population remains intact,” Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos National Park, said in a statement.
The Charles Darwin Foundation, which is also participating in the program, said in a statement that this year marked the most successful witch bird nesting season since the management plan began in 2018.
The new chicks are the result of six successful nests, the foundation said.
The management plan includes protecting the nests from invasive species such as the blackberry and the avian vampire fly.
Ecuador this week sealed the largest debt-for-nature swap on record by selling a new “blue bond” that will allocate at least $12 million a year to conservation in the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos Islands, which inspired British scientist Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in the 19th century, has a rich biodiversity of giant tortoises along with flamingos, blue-footed boobies, albatrosses and cormorants.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
