For years David Anderson has been fascinated by birds, spending much of his time studying and researching their tendencies.”I’ve always loved birds, especially endangered birds,” Anderson said.And now his studies have finally paid off. Anderson, biological sciences graduate student, helped rediscover the endangered Honduran Emerald hummingbird along with a group of independent conservationists and biologists.The Honduran Emerald hummingbird had not been seen in the Western Hemisphere in 73 years, but Anderson said the hummingbird has several populations in eastern Honduras, letting researchers know the bird wasn’t extinct.”This bird is especially interesting because not only is it endangered, but it is the only bird confined to Honduras,” Anderson said.The project began in 2007. A philanthropist in the group, Robert Hyman, funded most of the project.”We had to each pay for our own airfare,” Anderson said. “[Hyman] provided hotels, maps, research permits and other things to help.”Once in Honduras, the team limited the work to certain cites.”The hummingbird itself is easy to identify,” Anderson said. “Finding its habitat is not as easy.”The Honduran Emerald hummingbird lives in tropical, dry forests, Anderson said. Dry forests have significantly less precipitation than rain forests. The group narrowed its search to just the dry forests they found in Honduras.Anderson said finding the Honduran Emerald hummingbird was extremely exciting.”It was a holy grail type of moment,” Anderson said. “It’s always exciting when you accomplish a difficult goal. Other people had tried to find the hummingbird, so it was great to know we did it.”Anderson returned to Honduras on Wednesday to speak with Honduran government officials about conservation of the bird.”Because the hummingbird is endangered, we need to take measures to make sure it doesn’t go extinct,” Anderson said.To properly protect the species Anderson said researchers will need to get a better idea of the bird’s distribution. Knowing how spread out the bird’s habitat  will let them know how much land they need to protect. Anderson said they also need to get a better idea of how large the population is.Another problem the team could face is protecting the animals on private property. Anderson said they will have to negotiate with people who own the land to protect the bird. ——Contact Nichole Oden at [email protected]