Wildlife researchers have found a breeding location for the ‘Masked Finfoot’ along the Memay river in the Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia.
The masked finfoot is an underwater specialist with a long neck, a striking sharp beak and lobed feet which are green. The male and female both have a black mask and eyebrow that contrasts with a white eyering and lateral cervical stripe. The rest of the neck is grey, the breast is pale and the back, wings and tail are rich brown. The males have an all black chin while the females have a white chin.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has placed the bird on its red list of globally endangered species because its worldwide population of less than 1,000 is declining at an alarming rate.
It is found only in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Poaching and cutting down the trees where the bird lives are causing the population decline.
The Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary is one of several in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province that are home to many endangered bird species, including the critically endangered giant ibis and white-shouldered ibis.