From the Bay-breasted Cuckoo of Hispaniola to the Blue-billed Curassow of Colombia, ABC works to safeguard rare birds, especially focusing on those considered to be the rarest.

With the help of partners, ABC has created a network of protected areas for species on the edge of extinction throughout Latin America. Here, a series of short videos that showcases the rare birds and special places that our staff are working to conserve.

Andrew Rothman on Bay-breasted Cuckoo

The beautiful and elusive Bay-breasted Cuckoo is found only in the Dominican Republic. It's nicknamed “Cúa” after its most distinctive call. Like other cuckoo species, it is a skulker and can be very hard to find in the tree canopy, where it is most easily located by sound.

The Bay-breasted Cuckoo occurs in four protected areas in the Dominican Republic, with its stronghold likely the Loma Charco Azul Reserve, which it shares with other endangered birds including Hispaniolan Trogon, Black-capped Petrel, and Bicknell's Thrush.

Read more about Andrew's search for this rare species.

Bennett Hennessey on Brazil's Stresemann's Bristlefront

Stresemann's Bristlefront is not a name that rolls off the tongue; in fact, relatively few people have ever heard of this species. All the more reason that it needs protection.

This unique bird that nests in underground tunnels went unrecorded for 50 years. Then, in 1995, it was rediscovered in Brazil's Bahia state, in the northwest Atlantic Forest. Victims of habitat loss, the birds have the misfortune to live in one of the most endangered forests in the world and are themselves among the species most likely to become extinct without intensive conservation action.

Today, in the first in a series of planned conservation actions, a reserve has been established to help bring this species back from the edge of extinction.

Benjamin Skolnik on Colombia's Blue-billed Curassow

This remarkable Colombian bird, the Blue-billed Curassow, is an extremely rare bird. In fact, it's one of the birds closest to extinction in the Americas.

It belongs to a group of large, ground-dwelling tropical birds that are closely related to turkeys. Some say the birds are just as tasty as domestic turkeys, and unfortunately, harvesting the birds and eggs for food is an ongoing problem.

Although the species has been seen infrequently at other sites in Colombia, the Alliance for Zero Extinction has recognized a small portion of the Magdalena Valley as most critical for the curassow's survival. A reserve now provides protected habitat for the species and appears to be home to one of the last viable populations.