Saving the Zapata Rail

Almost nothing is known about Zapata Rail – a bird endemic to the in western . The accidental release (after a hurricane in 2001) into the swamp of the invasive, predatory African catfish as significantly reduced the populations of all rail species in the swamp and the fear is that Zapata Rail – which has always been rare – is rapidly approaching the edge of extinction. Field surveys are urgently needed to determine the species’ distribution and status so that appropriate conservation measures can be put in place. BirdLife will work in collaboration with Centro Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CNAP, BirdLife in Cuba) and Cuba’s Museo Nacional de Historia Natural to save this Critically Endangered species, but we need your donations to make this urgent field work a reality.