Bell Birds

Today the class and I received a lecture from one of Alex's colleagues and friends who is heavily involved with a conservation project which deals directly with the reforestation in Costa Rica. She gave us a presentation on the "Poster child" of the project which is the Bell bird. These birds are specifically located in Central America and common in Costa Rica. The class and I learned a lot about Bell birds.There is a major difference between the male and female Bell birds. Both sexes are born with feathers that camouflage with the forest and lack wattles. Wattles develop solely on the male bids later in life. Wattles are long black tubes that grow from the birds face and hang down beside the beak. They fill with blood when the male bird is angered and trying to look tough or are trying to impress the females. The male Bell Birds also change in color to become much more bold looking. The females remain the way they are born in order to blend in and protect themselves and their family. The bell birds are territorial but not aggressively. The project uses this bird as their poster child to help broadcast why reforestation is so important. They have many goals including balancing the needs of humans and balancing the needs of organisms. The project has been planting trees of many species in open areas to break the open space in which many animals can not cross or survive in. With the amount of effort and time they have put in, the project has accomplished a lot and continues to. the presentation taught the class and i a lot. I am excited to learn more as the trip continues.

Danielle Pelletier