For 140 years, conservation researchers had no clue, the White-winged flufftail is in South Africa, never-mind, breeding here.
In 1994, one was discovered on a private farm in Middlepunt, in Northern Mpumalanga.
So off BirdLife scientists went to monitor and learn more about it.
Dr Kyle Lloyd, of BirdLife, says passive monitoring techniques are used, to track the bird. It is listed as critically endangered, in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red data list, which means it requires urgent action to protect it, as there are only a few of them around.
The white-winged flufftail is 1 of 9 endemic species in Southern Africa. That is why it was found in Middlepunt, Northern Mpumalanga, in a wetland, because it prefers intact meadows.
Dr Lloyd explained the measures in place to monitor it between South Africa and its other home on the African continent, Ethopia. “There are two working groups- one International and the other, national.”
He said the bird also can be spotted at the
Middlepunt Nature Reserve, a recently declared Ramsar site (significant for its global contribution), as part of the Greater Lakenvlei Protected Environment, where some 14,000 hectares of farmland were set aside for the furtherance of conservation.
Ntsikeni Nature Reserve Community Project, in KwaZulu- Natal (KZN), is also home to the wonder bird, so is Wakkerstroom and KingWilliamstown (Eastern Cape).
While research is ongoing, scientists confirm the presence of at least 6 pairs, and some 55 pairs in Ethopia. Lloyd says attempts to make the environment conducive is ongoing, with a concerted effort towards community
development and training, including developing a school, and also incentives for protected areas.
Scientists had not heard the White- winged Flufftail call in over 140 years.
Picture by BDI
Timeline: Dr Lloyd, BirdLife South Africa.