In a fight to save a rare bird, Indigenous communities in Guyana are winning

By Carla Ruas
During an expedition to southern Guyana in 2000, researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Kansas were surprised to see a red siskin flying overhead. A small bird with a bright red chest, the red siskin (Spinus cucullatus) had never been observed outside Venezuela, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago. And even in those countries, sightings were extremely rare.
For the Guyana expedition, it was the Wapichan, Macushi and Wai Wai — local Indigenous communities in this region known as South Rupununi — who were essential to helping the scientists understand their findings. The partnership sparked a decades-long community-led conservation movement that has protected the red siskin and helped locals reconnect with nature.
Once common across tropical South America, the red siskin’s population declined dramatically over the last century. The species is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and its international trade is prohibited under Appendix I of CITES, the global convention on the wildlife trade.
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.
The news of a new population in Guyana made waves among scientists and conservationists. “There was no information about the bird in the region,” 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. “We got to work collecting data on bird population, active nests, and their habits.”

The collaborative experience encouraged local communities to establish the South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS) to protect the species. Ignacio is now the society’s president. “We are not biologists with techniques and methodologies or anything like that,” he says. “We are local villagers, farmers and teachers who wanted to use our abilities to become the guardians of this species.”
The organization established one of the country’s 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.
“We’re still trying to determine precisely the number of active birds in the region, as they can move long distances,” Ignacio tells Mongabay. “But we have been maintaining a stable population, and that’s already a success.”

Anti-smuggling patrols
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. “Almost immediately, birds started going missing,” Ignacio says. “There’s a lot of interest in this species, especially from neighboring Venezuela, where it’s practically extinct.”
Traders often hire local community members to capture the birds from the wild. The job has become attractive in recent years as Guyana’s cost of living skyrocketed after a big oil boom. “Each red siskin can sell for $400, even though local trappers will keep only a small portion of that amount,” Ignacio says.
The organization created a brigade to monitor the forest for smugglers and deter illegal activity. “We go out in groups and search hotspots for days at a time,” Ignacio says. “We report incidents to the village council and try to get information about who is trying to purchase and sell the birds from the wild.”

They also want to encourage locals to earn a living from conservation. In recent years, they’ve 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.

Uncontrolled burning
The SRCS has also taken on the task of mitigating the increasingly destructive wildfires that threaten the bird’s 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’s primary causes of deforestation.
In South Rupununi, uncontrolled fires can burn through the red siskin’s nesting sites and feeding trees. “The birds like these little forest islands in the middle of the savanna, which are quite vulnerable to fires,” says Kayla de Freitas, program coordinator of the SRCS. “These sites will typically burn to the ground.”
While the vegetation eventually regenerates, the birds are forced away for months at a time. “In a particularly hot and dry season, they have no refuge. That poses a big threat for the population,” de Freitas says.
She attributes the increase in uncontrolled fires to climate change and changes in land use. “People are planting cash crops such as peanuts and cassava. These are monocultures that use more land and fire and leave less time for reforestation,” she says.
The SRCS has been working to bring back traditional fire strategies to safely renew farming soil, promote biodiversity, and prevent larger burns.
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 “fire chasing” — strategies that have been making a comeback. “We are looking for funding to continue and expand these efforts to protect the red siskin’s habitat,” de Freitas says.

The next generations
For community leaders, it’s increasingly clear that the future of the red siskin lies with their children. “We want them to become rangers, geologists and conservation managers that will continue this work,” says Alyssa Melville, environmental education coordinator with the SRCS.
To plant the seeds of conservation, they’ve implemented an after-school program in more than 16 communities, teaching about the red siskin, including its habitat and threats to the population.
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.
“Most of all, we want to instill in these kids an appreciation for green spaces and wildlife,” Melville tells Mongabay. “When 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.”
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’s love for conservation is spreading across the country. “It’s 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?” (Mongabay.com)
(Carla Ruas is a Brazilian journalist with over a decade of experience reporting on human rights and the environment in Brazil and the United States. She has a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and has received multiple awards and grants for this work, including The Guardian’s Contributoria grant for investigative journalism and New America’s grant for reporting on unpaid care work.)