Author: BrantaMedia.Com

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The robust, long-legged Wood Thrush is closely related to the American Robin and thrushes of the genus Catharus, such as the Bicknell’s Thrush and Swainson’s Thrush. Its scientific name, Hylocichla mustelina, translates roughly as “weasel-colored woodland thrush,” a reference to this bird’s rich red-brown head, back, wings, and tail.

The Wood Thrush’s haunting, flute-like song is made possible by some very specialized anatomy. Like all songbirds, Wood Thrushes have a Y-shaped voice box, called a syrinx. During his three-part song, a male Wood Thrush actually sings pairs of notes simultaneously,

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

Preventing extinctions and reversing bird population declines are two key outcomes of ABC’s mission. Every acre matters for globally threatened birds, which often have small, restricted ranges and dwindling habitat.

Take the Puerto Rican Amazon (also known as Puerto Rican Parrot) for example, one of the rarest birds in the world — endemic to Puerto Rico, with fewer than 500 individuals remaining in the wild. Recovery efforts have focused on captive breeding and releasing these birds into three forests across the island, but new technology is helping fill in critical

_{This YouTube video was produced by the American Bird Conservancy.}

The spectacular Araripe Manakin was only discovered in 1996. The male’s bright, helmet-like crown led to its Portuguese nickname soldadinho-do-araripe, “Little Soldier of Araripe.”

Another local nickname for the Araripe Manakin hints at the bird’s specialized and very limited habitat. Local legend tells of a red-headed bird living by forest springs and streams at the foot of the Araripe Plateau in northeastern Brazil. This bird, known as the galo de nascente (cock of the springs), must not be hunted, as it is o dono do agua — owner of the