Florida grasshopper sparrow: scientists hail resurgence of endangered bird

Sparrows were taken into captivity after numbers dwindled – and this week experts released 1,000th bird back into wild

Scientists in Florida are hailing the landmark release this week of a tiny bird only 5in tall as an oversized success in their fight to save a critically endangered species.

Numbers of the Florida grasshopper sparrow, seen only in prairies in central regions of the state, dwindled so severely by 2015, mostly through habitat loss, that authorities took the decision to remove remaining breeding pairs into captivity. Their wager was that a controlled repopulation program would be more successful than leaving the birds to their own devices.