The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
An endangered species
The only place the Juan Fernández Firecrown lives is on Robinson Crusoe Island in Chile. These birds are endangered.
They have lived on this island for hundreds of thousands of years. But when humans discovered the island in the 1500s, rats, rabbits and goats came too. The rabbits and goats destroyed much of the groundcover of the island, part of the hummingbirds’ habitat. Then, about 100 years ago, humans brought in plants that choked out the native plants hummingbirds need.
The Hummingbird Society and other groups are working to save their habitat, cutting down invasive species and replanting native plants.