The Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) is a Critically Endangered bustard that lives in the grasslands of South and Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, India and Nepal. If you have never heard of it, that is part of the problem.
During the breeding season, male Bengal Floricans perform one of the more understatedly bizarre courtship displays in the bird world. They launch themselves vertically out of tall grass in repeated, stiff-winged leaps, briefly hovering above the vegetation before dropping back down out of sight. It is part mating display, part disappearing act, and entirely dependent on having enough intact grassland to pull it off.
Historically, Bengal Floricans were widespread across the region. Today, that is no longer the case. Populations have declined sharply due to habitat loss, fragmentation, agricultural expansion, and general human pressure on grassland systems. In Cambodia, fewer than 100 individuals remain, mostly confined to the Tonle Sap floodplain in Kampong Thom province. This area now represents one of the last global strongholds for the species.
And when populations get this small, the problems are not just ecological. They are genetic.
As grasslands shrink and become fragmented, birds become isolated. That limits breeding opportunities, reduces gene flow, and increases the risk of inbreeding. Over time, that can erode genetic diversity to the point where populations struggle to adapt, resist disease, or recover from environmental shocks. In other words, even if you protect the habitat, you can still run into trouble if the genetics are already compromised.
This is where things get technical, and important.
The Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) has been running a conservation breeding programme for Bengal Floricans since 2019, acting as a safety net for the species. But breeding programmes are not just about putting birds together and hoping for the best. If individuals are too closely related, you risk reinforcing the very genetic problems you are trying to avoid.
To tackle this, a collaboration was formed between ACCB, the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS). Each partner brings something different, ACCB manages the birds, RUPP leads the laboratory work, and RZSS supports the analysis and interpretation. Together, they are building the genetic picture needed to make informed conservation decisions.
Through our Small Grant Programme, we supported this project by funding additional genetic sequencing, specifically the mitochondrial ND2 gene. It might not sound glamorous, but this kind of targeted support fills critical gaps. In this case, it allowed the team to expand their dataset and get a clearer understanding of genetic variation within the Cambodian population.
Using samples from 22 individuals provided by ACCB, the team analysed genetic diversity and population structure. The results confirmed what conservationists often fear in very small populations, genetic variation is extremely low. In fact, all sampled individuals shared a single mitochondrial haplotype (Translation: they’re all basically running on the same genetic blueprint).
That is about as uniform as it gets.
On one hand, this highlights just how vulnerable the population is. On the other, it provides something incredibly valuable, a baseline. For the first time, there is a clear genetic snapshot of the Cambodian population, which can now be used to guide breeding decisions, monitor changes over time, and develop tools to assess the remaining wild birds using non-invasive samples like feathers.
Importantly, this work is not happening in isolation. It feeds directly into both captive management and conservation in the wild. Genetic data can help minimise inbreeding in the breeding programme, identify priority individuals for pairing, and inform any future reintroduction efforts. At the same time, it strengthens local capacity, building skills and infrastructure within Cambodia to carry this work forward.
Of course, none of this matters without habitat.
Grasslands might not look like much at first glance, but they are complex, highly functional ecosystems. For Bengal Floricans, they provide everything, cover for nesting, feeding areas, and the open structure needed for those strange, vertical display jumps that define their breeding behaviour. Lose the grasslands, and you lose the species.
In Cambodia, these habitats are disappearing fast, converted to agriculture, infrastructure, and settlements. As they fragment, remaining birds become more isolated, and the genetic challenges only intensify.
Conservation here is not one thing. It is genetics, habitat, people, and a lot of coordination.
Local communities play a central role in that. Through engagement with landowners, education, and promoting sustainable land-use practices, conservation efforts aim to keep these grasslands functional, not just for floricans, but for the wider ecosystem they support.
It is also worth being clear about where the real work is happening. This project is led by researchers and conservationists at RUPP, ACCB, and RZSS. They are the ones collecting samples, running analyses, managing birds, and making the difficult decisions that come with conserving a species this close to the edge. Our role is to support that work where small inputs can unlock meaningful progress.
And this is exactly the kind of project WAWA exists for. A slightly obscure grassland bird, with a strange mating display, facing very real extinction risk, and requiring a mix of fieldwork, lab work, and collaboration to stand a chance. Not flashy, not famous, but absolutely worth saving. Consider donating to WAWA to support other conservation projects that support weird and wonderful animals on the brink of extinction.
[Featured photo RZSS Lab team]