BrazilStar

Quoted from Barry Kent MacKay's column from the Toronto Star dated May31, 1998

"There is, however, still time to save what is being called the wet tall-grass tapaculo. It is a tiny,dark bird that until recently was unknown to science and won't be officially classified until July. The classification of a newly discovered plant or animal species is a leisurely affair, involving much scolarly research and a formal peer reviewed description, with figures published in a proper scientific journal, before the public at large is informed. However, the wet tall-grass tapaculo, called MACUQUINHO-DA-VARZEA in its native land, cannot wait. The bird was discovered last year by Brazilian ornithologists Marco Bornschein and Bianca Reinert. Their decade of field research paid a similar dividend in 1995, with the discovery of another new species, the marsh antwren (STYMPHALORNIS ACUTIROSTRIS). It was not only a new species, but an entirely new genus, found on the coast of Parana in southeastern Brazil. The wet tall-grass tapaculo, clearly a member of the genus SCYTALOPUS, is found in only three areas, amounting to less than 10 hectares. Unfortunately that small range is slated to vanish beneath the flood that will back up behind dams being built to increase the water supply for Curitiba, the state capital. At one time, the marshes of the region and the habitat of the then-unknown species of tapaculo were much more extensive. But the city was built at the expense of the marsh region, which has been mostly destroyed by filling in, by sand extraction and by burning. Plans to build three dams raise concernthat the tapaculo will become extinct within the decade of its discovery. Brazilian conservationists are begging for letters sent to the proper authorities to prove that people care. I find it deliciously ironic that, just as technology is destroying so much of the natural world, so can it be used to save it. Indeed, I know the plight of the wet tall-grass tapaculo only through information sent through the Internet. No regular mail addresses have been posted. You can send your E-mail to conservationist Dimas Poli (aves-br@triang.com.br) addressed to Your Excellence, Mr. Jaime Lerner, Governor of Parana (duda@pr.gov.br) with a separate letter to Mr. Carlos Afonso Teixeira de Freitas, president of SANEPAR, the group building the dam (leila maria@sanepar.pr.gov.br) and to Mr. Jose Antonio Andreguetto, president of IAP, the environmental organization in Parana (iap@pr.gov.br). You may copy me if you wish, Be brief, polite and write in English or, if you can, Portuguese. If you are a keen birder, you might want to explain your willingness to travel far to see endangered and endemic bird species.
Barry Kent MacKay's E-mail address is mimus@sympatico.ca

Posted with permission from the author as follows:

"Yes, you are free to quote it as you like. I own the copyright and it's my policy to allow anyone to reprint any of my columns in whole or in part. I only ask that a proper citation be given.

I'm leaving in a few hours for the States, so I won't be able to respond to further queries for another week or two, however, there is no problem associated with quoting from or reprinting the column."

Thanks

Barry

Barry Kent MacKay
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