Ridgely's discovery of Ecuador's jocotoco antpitta spawns global conservation model
A 1997 ornithological find led to the Jocotoco Foundation, which now protects 50,000 hectares and shelters one in eight of Earth's bird species.
What to know
- A 1997 ornithological discovery in Ecuador's Andes of an entirely new bird species triggered the founding of the Jocotoco Foundation, now a global conservation model.
- The foundation protects 19 reserves covering 50,000 hectares and influences 82,000 more hectares, sheltering 1,350+ bird species including 80% of Ecuador's birds and one in eighth of all bird species on Earth.
- The jocotoco antpitta's discovery ranks as one of the greatest ornithological breakthroughs of the late 20th century—a large, noisy species that had eluded Western science until 1997.
This is a conservation success story worth celebrating—one discovery led to protecting vast biodiversity.
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“A rare piece of good news.”
davep@infosec.exchange · Mastodon ↗
“It had this crazy call, sounding like an owl; but we had no idea what it was, and to be honest I never thought we would find out.”
Robert Ridgely, Ornithologist · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 12
Robert Ridgely US ornithologist, Jocotoco Foundation founderJocotoco Foundation Conservation organization
Stephen Moss Guardian journalist
How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts
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Guardian publishes 30-year retrospective on jocotoco discovery and conservation impact
The Guardian runs an in-depth feature by Stephen Moss documenting Ridgely's 1997 discovery and the Jocotoco Foundation's three decades of conservation work, noting the foundation now manages 19 reserves covering 50,000 hectares plus an additional 82,000 hectares of privately and communally owned land.
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‘Ridgely soon realised that if the bird was to be saved from extinction its forest home needed to be urgently protected. He and a group of like-minded friends created an organisation dedicated to saving the bird and its habitat, raising funds from donors in the US and Europe to buy and restore the land. In 1998 the Jocotoco Foundation was born.’…
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A rare piece of good news. https://www. theguardian.com/environment/ng -interactive/2026/sep/13/bird-ecuador-rare-species-jocotoco-antpitta-foundation-conservation-biodiversity-aoe
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background
Jocotoco antpitta officially described as new species — Two years after discovery, the bird was formally described and named the jocotoco antpitta, with the scientific name Grallaria ridgelyi honoring its discoverer. Local farmers had already named the bird 'jocotoco' to represent its loud, barking call.
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Jocotoco Foundation established to protect bird and habitat — Ridgely and like-minded colleagues created the Jocotoco Foundation, raising funds from donors in the US and Europe to purchase and restore the bird's forest home.
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Ridgely discovers jocotoco antpitta in southern Ecuador — Ornithologist Robert Ridgely and his team heard an unusual bird call while ascending a forest trail in the Ecuadorian Andes. Ridgely recorded the call, played it back, and the bird emerged from dense bamboo—a large, thrush-sized species previously unknown to science.