Cambodia's endangered "whispering bird," the Bengal florican, now has a whisper...of hope!

This Lauren Bacall of birds is known for the throaty whispers it makes during elaborate courtship dances. Only about 800 remain in Cambodia; a few more in Viet Nam, India and Nepal.

What's threatening them? Shrinking habitat. Commercial rice producers have flooded miles of grassland, creating profitable, year-round rice paddies.

Floricans however preferred the old ways. Traditionally, village farmers prized grassland for grazing cattle. Then, once a year they burned their pastures to revitalize the soil. Floricans loved it. But no dry grass means no Floricans, no whispering, and no courtship.

Yet today the birds are benefiting from a new approach to conservation. It's called "BirdLife Species Champions," created by BirdLife International. The program aims to save all the world's critically endangered birds from extinction.

Volunteer groups each "champion" one species. In the florican's case, it's Britain's Birdfair, which sponsors the world's largest annual birdwatching event.

So far, Birdfair has worked with Cambodia's government to preserve 135 square miles for traditional cattle grazing, and for Bengal floricans.

source: www.islaearth.org