SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

DESCRIPTION

The three outer pairs of feathers of the tail are white and the shafts of the outer flight feathers are thickened and flattened which gives the distinctive feature of the sabrewings, their English and genus names. In this case, both parts of the scientific name refer to this feature, Campylopterus and ensipennis being derived from the Greek and Latin respectively for "bent wing".

The food of this species is nectar, taken mainly from undergrowth flowers.

RANGE AND POPULATION

The Tobago population was thought to be extinct after hurricane Flora hit the Island in 1963 when almost all the island's forest was destroyed. The species was then rediscovered in 1974, although it remains absent from the south-west (Hillsborough Reservoir) and north-east (Pigeon Peak) portions of its former range. The Venezuela population is also under threat by widespread deforestation.

Sabrewings in Tobago were found in mature montane forest at elevations above 280 m, in open areas such as the edges of clearings, in patches of forest in abandoned plantations, and in regenerating forest less than 15 m tall, suggesting plasticity in ecological requirements.

THREATS

CONSERVATION MEASURES

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

DESCRIPTION

Manatees are gentle and slow-moving. Most of their time is spent eating, resting, and in travel. Manatees feed primarily on sea grasses and sometimes, on small invertebrates. They can consume 10-15% of their body weight daily in vegetation.

The West Indian sea cow has evolved in areas with no natural predators and as a result the members of this species have had no need to develop complex behaviours for predator avoidance. It is believed they can live 60 years or more.

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. The other subspecies of the West Indian manatee is sometimes referred to as a Caribbean/Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus).

The areas inhabited by this species have fairly constant temperatures year-round and an abundant food source, and without the need for group foraging techniques or group defence, this species is largely solitary, occasionally forming loose aggregations.

Manatees are not territorial and do not observe any social hierarchy. Most groups are temporary associations, without regard to sex or age. One exception is herds of juvenile males, which are temporary groups that arise from the exclusion of such individuals from reproductive activities. In addition temporary mating herds develop when a female is in oestrus (estrus).

Manatees use their tail to propel themselves forward and are surprisingly agile in the water. They are capable of complex manoeuvring including somersaults, rolls, and swimming upside-down. They are active day and night, resting for several hours at a time near the surface of the water or at the bottom. While resting on the bottom, they rise to the surface to breathe every few minutes.

Manatees use various forms of communication in the water. Individuals rub themselves against hard surfaces, possibly secreting a scent to convey information about the reproductive state of the resident females. Manatees also have an acute ability to hear and squeals are often used to keep contact between a mother and calf. Vision seems to be the preferred method of navigation.

Gestation period lasts from 12 to 14 months. Normally, one calf is born, although on rare occasions two have been recorded, every two to five years. Mothers nurse their young for 1 to 2 years, so a calf may remain dependent on its mother during that time even though the young are born with molars and premolars, which allow them to consume sea grass within the first 3 weeks of birth. The family unit consists of mother and calf, which remain together for up to 2 years. Males usually contribute no parental care to the calf.

RANGE AND POPULATION

Although their range is quite large, manatees today exist only in a few small, isolated populations. They once were widespread in rivers and along coasts in their range, but they were hunted extensively in the 18th and 19th centuries. Coastal development has further reduced their populations.

The destruction of the swampland habitat for development and agricultural uses has annihilated local populations. Now, less than a hundred manatees live in the Nariva Swamp, a protected area.

THREATS

CONSERVATION MEASURES

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

DESCRIPTION

The pawi feeds on fruits in the canopy of remote lower and upper montane rainforest, preferring steep, hilly areas with numerous streams, sparse ground-cover, a closed canopy and abundant lianas and epiphytes. Most records are at elevations of 400-900 m, but it still occurs in areas as low as 50 m. It is known to occur in secondary vegetation and cultivated land near to primary forest, and formerly occurred in semi-evergreen forest.

The Blue-throated Piping-guan is species' closest living relative.

Unfortunately, little information is known about the seasonality of breeding and the location of nesting sites of the pawi.

RANGE AND POPULATION

THREATS

CONSERVATION MEASURES

The pawi was listed as one of the highest priorities for action in the Cracid Action Plan for 2000-2004 (Brooks and Strahl, 2000), and both the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Wildlife Section of the Division of Forestry have identified the pawi as a species of particular interest. It is one of the first three Environmentally Sensitive Species listed by the EMA.

The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine has been involved with research on the pawi since 2004, as part of a Pawi Study Group (PSG). Kerrie Naranjit did a short study of the habitat use of the pawi as her B.Sc. research project in spring 2005, and was a participant on Project Pawi later that summer. Project Pawi was organised by Aidan Keane, who received a Gold Award from the BP Conservation Programme (BPCP) for this survey of the current distribution of the pawi, in collaboration with the PSG. Kerrie Naranjit was selected to attend the BPCP Training Course (Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park Conservation and Research Center, Virginia in June 2005. Subsequently, a grant from the American Bird Conservancy (William Belton Small Grants Fund) and the Conservation International Foundation was obtained by the PSG to continue this work in the form of an M.Phil. studentship. The EMA agreed to provide a stipend for the studentship, and Kerrie Naranjit was appointed and began field work in January 2007. Through her association with Project Pawi, and participation in another BPCP project on the Bloody Bay frog in Tobago in 2006, Kerrie obtained a BPCP Alumnus Grant to attend the Tall Timbers field station in Florida in May 2007. There she received three weeks training in radiotracking and capture of wild galliform birds from Dr. John Carroll and his research group. Many of these initiatives have been facilitated by help from the World Pheasant Association, Fordingbridge, UK.