• NONGGONG BABBLER - a new Stachyris babbler from SW China
                                      
Krys Kazmierczak writes: For some reason, news of this new species does not appear to have filtered through to our email group up till now.

As Mike Kilburn, a member who is temporarily off-list, wrote in a note:
"Actually, I couldn't resist the chance for a bit of grip as I was fortunate enough to see it back in November 2006! But before the
accusations of suppression come flying in, I should explain that I did not make this public because that honour belongs to the finder, and there's not much else in the way of glory for the average research ornithologist than announcing a new species! I've been itching to talk about it ever since!

The finder, Jiang Aiwu, was on a scholarship programme from my employer - Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden in Hong Kong, and sent us pix asking about the identity of the bird. I went with three mates and got it pretty easily, subsequently confirming it from the pix. Our connection with the funder was critical for arranging access at the time.

It was a superb moment of birding as we saw a group of three birds rooting in understorey leaf litter on karst limestone in the morning, and in the afternoon of the same day coming to drink and wash at a pool of water in the crook of a small tree, with Streaked Wren Babblers and Rufous-capped Babblers.

The best field features, in separating it from other potential confusion species - Limestone and Streaked Wren Babblers and Sooty Babbler, especially in the dull light of the understorey where we saw it were:

1. Pale iris
2. White crescent behind the ear
3. White throat patch with black spots (like a short kipper tie)
4. Dark bill (from Sooty Babbler)

It's not actually difficult to identify, but with a new species you need to be pretty certain!
I was a little surprised that the description paper does not mention the pale iris, but I guess all skins have the eye removed."

Courtesy of Mike Kilburn, who arranged for permission, I have been able to post some in-the-hand images of this species to OBI at
http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?action=searchresult&Bird_ID=2844

The press release can be found at
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/19/content_8397828.htm

The paper can be found at
http://www.chinabird.org/news/Nonggang_Babbler.pdf

  • Nonggang Babbler  A new species of Stachyris Babbler discovered on the China / Vietnam border -  added 01-Jul-2008


  • Ornithologists have announced the discovery of a new species from the Togian Islands, Indonesia – the Togian white-eye  -  added 03-Apr-2008

  • A previously unknown sub-species of bird has been discovered in the southern grasslands of Nepal  -  added 05-Feb-2008




  • New Hummingbird species discovered in Colombia - Gorgeted Puffleg - added 16-May-07
                               





  • A new species of Liochicla discovered in north-east India - Bugun Liochicla - added 10-Apr-06








  • A new Nightjar species discovered in Indonesia - Mees's Nightjar - added 16-Mar-05



NEW & REDISCOVERED SPECIES
  • RUSTY-THROATED WREN-BABBLER REDISCOVERED
                                      
Armed only with a song, two naturalists flushed what may be the world's rarest bird, on the steep slopes of the Himalayas, a species never before seen alive in the wild.

The sighting of the secretive stub-tailed creature, known formally as the Rusty-throated Wren-babbler Spelaeornis badeigularis was disclosed Saturday by the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Benjamin King, a museum ornithologist, and Julian Donahue, a retired curator at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, identified the bird during a November expedition into the Mishmi Hills in Arunachal Pradesh in India, at an
altitude of about 8,000 feet.

They lured it into the open by playing a tape recording of bird calls, Donahue said.

''It was flying low behind bushes and in the brush. We could hear it, and we could see glimpses of it... It took an hour of chasing this elusive bird before we could see enough to convince ourselves,'' Donahue said.

The only previous evidence of the species had been a dead bird found in 1947 during an expedition led by S. Dillon Ripley, head of the Smithsonian Institution

Click on the thumbnails for larger images
  • NEW SPECIES OF ANTWREN FOR BRAZIL

A new species of antwren from Bahia, Brazil has recently been described in the journal Zootaxa. Sincorá Antwren Formicivora grantsaui is found only in the campo rupestre vegetation of the Serra do Sincorá between 850 m and 1,100 m in the Chapada Diamantina region.

To read the full article: click here
  • THE 'REDISCOVERY' OF THE EXTINCT NEW ZEALAND STORM-PETREL                                                                         

On 25th January 2003 a possible sighting of the supposedly extinct New Zealand Storm-Petrel  Oceanites maorianus, was made by Brent Stephenson, Sav Saville, and several other birders, during a pelagic out of Whitianga, New Zealand . Photos were taken of the bird and subsequently caused a great stir
amongst the birding and scientific community within New Zealand and elsewhere. Could the supposedly extinct NZSP, known only from three specimens, not even adequately described, and having not been seen since the collection of the last specimen over 150 years ago, still be alive!!?? 

To read the full article and see the pictures: click here
  • NEW HUMMINGBIRD SPECIES DISCOVERED IN COLOMBIA                                                                                             

A new blue-and-green-throated hummingbird species has been discovered in a cloud forest in Colombia, but experts who discovered the bird say they already need protection from human encroachment.

Its discoverers say the new species, called the Gorgeted Puffleg Eriocnemis isabellae, is easily twice as big as the thumb-sized hummingbirds found in the eastern United States, measuring between 90 and 100 millimetres in length.

The name comes from the iridescent emerald green and electric blue patch on the throat - the gorge - on males, and from tufts of white feathers at the top of the legs, a characteristic of so-called puffleg hummers.

Ornithologists Alexander Cortes-Diago and Luis Alfonso Ortega made three sightings of the hummingbird in 2005 during surveys of mountain cloud forest in the Serrania del Pinche, in south-west Colombia.

After the birds were seen again in 2006, photographs were sent to the Zoological Research Museum A Koenig in Germany for confirmation.

"We immediately suspected the bird as a new species," Andre Weller of the Brehm Fund for International Bird Conservation Zoological Research Museum A Koenig said in a statement.

"Further study has shown that this is certainly the most spectacular discovery of a new hummingbird taxon during the last decade or more."

The bird's discoverers say they went to the Serrania del Pinche on a hunch: they expected to find new amphibians and possibly new ranges for known birds, but the new hummingbird was "completely unexpected," Mr Cortes-Diago said in a statement.

The isolated nature of the Serrania del Pinche means it may harbour more species, but it is threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture and the cultivation of coca, the plant used to make the drug cocaine.

"Destruction of habitat is the main threat caused by the migration of coca fields from the Caqueta and Putumayo areas to the Pacific," Luis Mazariegos-Hurtado, of the Hummingbird Conservancy in Colombia, said.

He says the creation of a new protected area - a national park or sanctuary - is needed to protect the gorgeted puffleg's habitat.

More than the fate of this flamboyantly plumed hummingbird is at stake, according to Ian Davidson of the conservation group Birdlife International.

Mr Davidson says the gorgeted puffleg is a "flagship species" for biodiversity in this cloud forest. 

Source: http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/newsitems/200705/s1922035.htm
Thanks to Andrew Adcock for the link.
  • LONG SOUGHT AFTER BIRD SPOTTED IN PERUVIAN NATURE RESERVE !                                                              

Endangered species known only from captured individuals seen in wild for first time

The extremely rare Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi), a species that wasn’t discovered until 1976, and until now was only known from a few specimens captured in nets after dark, has been seen in the wild for the first time by researchers monitoring the Area de Conservación Privada de Abra Patricia – Alto Nieva, a private conservation area in Northern Peru. The sighting is considered a holy grail of South American ornithology and has not been accomplished in thirty years, despite the efforts of hundreds of birders.

The species is among the world’s smallest owls. It is so distinct that it has been named in its own genus: Xenoglaux meaning “strange owl” on account of the long wispy feathers or whiskers that stream out from its wild-looking reddish-orange eyes. The owl inhabits the dense undergrowth of mountain forests in a remote part of northern Peru.

“Seeing the Long-whiskered Owlet is a huge thrill,” said David Geale of Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) who was part of the research team. “Its population is estimated to be less than 1,000 birds, and possibly as few as 250. Due to the rapid destruction of its forest habitat and its tiny range, it is inferred that the species is in serious decline. Until recently, the owlet’s key habitat was completely unprotected.”

The Long-whiskered Owlet has previously been captured by researchers on at least three occasions, but until 2002 nothing was known of the bird’s natural history. At that point, calls were recorded from a captive bird, but its biology still remained virtually unknown. Last month, researchers Geale and Juvenal Ccahuana, rangers of Abra Patricia and monitors of the MNBCA program from Alto Mayo, encountered the owlet three times during daylight hours and recorded its calls frequently at night. Several photographs were also taken of a bird captured in a mist-net and later released onto a tree branch where it posed for photographs before disappearing into the night. These additional photos are available at http://www.abcbirds.org/whiskeredowlpic.htm and high resolution copies are available upon request.

“The creation of the Area de Conservación Privada de Abra Patricia – Alto Nieva, located in the Northern end of the Peruvian Yungas ecosystem, provides protection for the key site for the Long-whiskered Owlet,” said Hugo Arnal, American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) Tropical Andes Program Director. “By establishing a reserve and protecting the owlet’s forest habitat, ABC and its partner ECOAN are giving many other species a chance to survive as well.”

The northeastern section of the Peruvian Yungas, comprises habitat for 317 resident bird species, of which 23 are considered globally threatened. The conservation area also protects much of the known habitat for the endangered Ochre-fronted Antpitta, and has been declared a priority by the Alliance for Zero Extinction. Other endemics in the area include the endangered Royal Sunangel (a hummingbird), the rare and recently-described Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant, and the endangered Ash-throated Antwren.

Several songbirds that breed in North America such as the beautiful Blackburnian Warbler also use these forests during the winter. Other migratory species include the Broad-winged Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Swainson's Thrush, and Alder Flycatcher. In total, 29 neotropical migrant species use this area, of which 13 are of conservation concern. Nearly 98% of the reserve consists of well-preserved stands of typical Yungas forests, and it is also considered a rich area for orchids.

ABC’s work in the region is supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Conoco Phillips, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Robert Wilson.  Birdwatchers wishing to search for the owl should contact Hugo Arnal at American Bird Conservancy (see: www.abcbirds.org). Access is strictly limited to small groups and the chances of success though better than in the past are still considered very low for anything but the luckiest groups.

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is the only 501(c)(3) organization that works solely to conserve native wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC is a membership organization that is consistently awarded a top, four-star rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.

Contacts: Steve Holmer, American Bird Conservancy, 202/234-7181 ext. 216, sholmer@abcbirds.org, www.abcbirds.org
                  Constantino Aucca Chutas, Presidente de ECOAN, +51-84-227988, cell +51-84-9693696,
                  caucca@ecoanperu.org, www.ecoanperu.org

Photos can be viewed at: http://www.abcbirds.org/whiskeredowlpic.htm and high resolution copies are available upon request.
  • LARGE-BILLED REED-WARBLER (Acrocephalus orinus) REDISCOVERED AFTER 139 YEARS !                                                   

Lost and found: the enigmatic large-billed Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus orinus rediscovered after 139 years
Philip D. Round, Bengt Hansson, David J. Pearson, Peter R. Kennerley and Staffan Bensch P. D. Round (correspondence), Dept. of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Rama 6 Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.

E-mail: frpdr@mahidol.ac.th.  B. Hansson and S. Bensch, Dept. of Animal Ecology, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden.  D. J. Pearson, 4 Lupin Close, Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6NW, United Kingdom.  P. R. Kennerley, 16 Coppice Close, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1RX, United Kingdom.

We present compelling evidence of the continued existence of the Large-billed Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus orinus , hitherto known only from the unique type specimen collected in NW India 139 years ago. Morphological and genetic analyses of an unusual Acrocephalus warbler mist-netted south-west of Bangkok, Thailand, on 27 March 2006, confirmed its identity as A. orinus , and revealed that it was heterozygous at four out of eight microsatellite markers, indicating the continued existence of a viable population whose breeding and wintering areas are still unknown.

The provenance of the handful of bird species each described from a single type specimen has sometimes been questioned because they might be aberrant examples, or hybrids between already known species (Collar and Fishpool 2006).
The status of the Large-billed Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus orinus perplexed taxonomists for more than a century (Williamson 1968), until an examination of the mitochondrial DNA of the type specimen, collected in the Sutlej Valley, Himachal Pradesh, NW India, on 13 November 1867, confirmed its identity as a valid species (Bensch and Pearson 2002). Without any other records, its behaviour, ecology, breeding and wintering range remained unknown.

A small, unstreaked Acrocephalus warbler captured ca. 3,100 km from the type locality on 27 March 2006 at Laem Phak Bia, Phetchaburi Province, SW Thailand (138 03?N; 1008 05?E) showed a rounded wing and a particularly strong and long beak and other morphological features (Fig. 1) which invited comparison with the recently re-examined type specimen of Acrocephalus orinus (Bensch and Pearson 2002). In this paper, we examine the morphology, phylogenetic position and multilocus heterozygosity of this newly caught specimen to suggest hypotheses for the migratory pattern, distributional range and current population size of Acrocephalus orinus.

Further scientific reading, analysis and references: click here (pdf file)             Source: Moldovan Istvan  e-mail: idegenvezeto@yahoo.com
J. Avian Biol. 000: 000000, 2007
doi: 10.1111/j.2007.0908-8857.04064.x
Copyright # J. Avian Biol. 2007, ISSN 0908-8857

Received 18 September 2006, accepted 9 December 2006
  • "EXTINCT" WOODPECKER RELOCATED IN BRAZIL                                                   

One of Brazil's most enigmatic birds has reappeared after an absence of 80 years. The news of the rediscovery of Caatinga Woodpecker Celeus obrieni has delighted conservationists in the region and gives hope for other 'lost' birds feared extinct in South America.
Caatinga Woodpecker was found by a Brazilian ornithologist Advaldo do Prado whilst surveying in the Tocantins region of Central Brazil. This enigmatic species had not been observed since its initial discovery in 1926.

"Rediscovering birds is what many conservationists dream about," said Pedro Develey IBA Coordinator of SAVE Brasil (BirdLife in Brazil), "There is something truly special about finding a bird that many of us considered 'lost' for so long."

The woodpecker was previously known only from a single specimen collected in Brazil and deposited in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The specimen was traditionally considered a subspecies of Rufous-headed Woodpecker C. spectabilis also from South America. It wasn't until a recent review by ornithologists involved with the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithologists' Union concluded that dramatic differences in the plumage of Caatinga Woodpecker warranted full species status.

The new discovery was found approximately 200 miles east of the area where the previous specimen was taken in 1926, suggesting to conservationists that other individuals may lie in similar habitats in the eastern part of Central Brazil. BirdLife International, the official Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List, are to formally propose that Caatinga Woodpecker be listed as Critically Endangered.

"Rediscoveries like this allow us crucial opportunities for understanding behaviour, ecology and for gauging conservation status with a view to creating protected areas within the Tocantins, a region that has suffered in recent years with expansion of agriculture and new road projects." said Pedro Develey.

The new finding comes in the wake of a number of recent bird rediscoveries in Brazil including Golden-crowned Manakin, Rufous-fronted Antthrush, White-winged Potoo, Kaempfer's Tody-tyrant and most recently, Cone-billed Tanager.

"Caatinga Woodpecker and rediscoveries like it provide hope for other South American birds currently missing and feared extinct, some of which haven't been seen for over 150 years." said Stuart Butchart, Global Species Coordinator, BirdLife International and co-author of 'Lost and Found: a gap analysis for the Neotropical avifauna', a recent article on the rediscovery of 'lost' birds.

Data from BirdLife International's Global Species Programme states that Brazil has more globally threatened birds than any other country on earth. Of the 111 species at risk of extinction in Brazil, 98 live in the Atlantic forest, which has been reduced by more than 90% of its original extent.

For more information on other 'lost' bird species in South America download a copy of 'Lost and Found: a gap analysis for the Neotropical avifauna' (PDF), extracted from 'Neotropical Birding 2006'
Source: BirdLife International via birdguides
  • "EXTINCT" DUCK RELOCATED IN MADAGASCAR
                                                  
Biologists from Madagascar have recently discovered the Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata, a species that was considered extinct by many authorities. National Director for The Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar Project & former ABC representative, Lily-Arison Rene de Roland, and field biologist, Thé Seing Sam, discovered the rare bird while conducting avian surveys in a remote part of northern Madagascar. They observed nine adults and four young that appeared to be nearly two weeks of age. Since their initial sighting, Rene de Roland and Sam have returned to the site to collect additional data and observations.

The Madagascar Pochard is one of the country’s rarest and most endangered birds. The last confirmed sighting of the species was more than a decade and a half ago at Lake Alaotra on the Central Plateau of Madagascar in 1991. The single male was captured and kept in Antananarivo Zoological and Botanical Gardens until its death one year later.

Decline of the Madagascar Pochard is likely to have begun in the 1940s and 1950s in connection with degrading lake and marshland habitat from introduced plant and fish species, conversion to rice paddies, and burning. The last certain record of multiple birds (approximately 20) on Lake Alaotra is from June 1960. Little is known about the Madagascar Pochard, an extremely secretive and often solitary bird that prefers shallow and marshy habitat. Found only on Madagascar, most of the species’ behavior and life cycle is still unknown
Source: http://www.africanbirdclub.org/
  • ENDANGERED BIRD SIGHTED AFTER 100 YEARS                                                          

Guwahati, Jun 22 (PTI) Listed as a globally endangered bird, the 'Manipur Bush-Quail Perdicula manipurensis' has been sighted after 100 years in Assam at the Manas National Park.
As rare as the considered-extinct Himalayan Quail and Pink Headed Duck, the Manipuri Bush-Quail, which has not been sighted for decades was discovered accidently by noted Assam ornithologist Dr Anwaruddin Choudhury on June six, a release of prominent environment NGO, The Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India said here.

The last authentic record of the bird from Assam was at Mornoi in undivided Goalpara district from where the birds were obtained for British Museum, American Museum of Natural History and Bombay Natural History Society between 1905-07, the release quoted the Birdlife International of Cambridge, England, as saying.
From Manipur valley, however, the last confirmed record of this species was mentioned as "pre-1932" by Indian Civil Services officer and ornithologist J C Higgins, the NGO said.
Dr Choudhury, who is also deputy commissioner of Baska district, was on an administrative inspection tour on June 6th with park deputy director R Bhattacharjee when he saw one Manipur Bush-Quail at about 14.30 in the Panbari Range of Manas.

The Manipur Bush-quail was also a "restricted-range" species as its global range was confined to a small area from North Bengal to Manipur, the release said.
So far all the expeditions launched by experts from India and abroad to spot the bird were unsuccessful, the Rhino Foundation said.
Earlier discoveries by Dr Choudhury included globally threatened Pale-capped or Purple Wood-Pigeon and Black-breasted Parrotbill.
Source: vinod naik   watchingvinod@yahoo.co.in
  • A NEW SPECIES OF LIOCICHLA FROM EAGLENEST WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, ARUNACHAL PRADESH, NE INDIA                    

This apparently new taxon was first discovered by Ramana Athreya in 1995. In a message to the OrientalBirding Internet discussion group he describes it as follows: ...... to find out more click here


Source: Krys Kazmierczak      editor http://www.orientalbirdimages.org

  • * * This entry now has full details of the new species "Bugun Liocichla Liocichla bugunorum"  added 12-Sep-2006
  • A NEW PARROT SPECIES DISCOVERED IN THE PHILIPPINES                            

CHICAGO -- Scientists have discovered two new species -- a parrot and a mouse -- that live only on a small island in the Philippines. This island, Camiguin, is the smallest Philippine island, of which there are 7,000, known to support a bird or mammal species that is endemic (lives nowhere else).
The scientists' research, which is embargoed, is described in the April 5 issue of Fieldiana: Zoology, a peer-reviewed, scientific journal about biodiversity research published by The Field Museum.
These new discoveries and the biological diversity they document strengthen the case for preserving the small area of natural rain forest still found on the island.

"Knowing that at least 54 species of birds and at least 24 species of mammals live on Camiguin, and that some of these animals are found nowhere else on earth, makes us realize how important this island is in terms of conservation," said Lawrence Heaney, Curator of Mammals, at The Field Museum and a co-author of several of the reports in this publication. "For these animals to survive, we've got to save the dwindling forests where they live."
The island was once almost entirely covered by rain forest, but by 2001 only 18% was still forested, Heaney said. That amount has dropped since then, as logging, agriculture and human settlement have continued to erode the forests. In fact, almost half the island is now covered with coconut plantations.

"The Philippines is increasingly recognized as a global center for biodiversity, with exceptionally high levels of endemism," said Blas Tabaranza Jr., Director of the Terrestrial Ecosystems Project of the Haribon Foundation, a Philippine conservation NGO based in Manila, and a co-author of several of the Fieldiana reports. "Unfortunately, the Philippines has also vaulted into notoriety as one of the most severely deforested tropical countries in the world."
The scientists have declared Camiguin's rain forest to be a key global conservation priority. Efforts to protect the remaining rain forest in which these animals live as a national park have been underway for several years, in collaboration between The Field Museum, Haribon Foundation, local government, and Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Camiguin's forests are not only necessary to protect endangered wildlife, such as the two newly discovered endemic species. They are also essential for the ecotourism that provides much of the island's income. In addition, the forests provide ecological support for the coral reefs surrounding the island that require low levels of runoff and siltation.
According to Tabaranza, the rain forest protects watersheds on the island's steep slopes, helping to control soil erosion and prevent landslides. In February 2006, a mudslide on denuded slopes on the neighboring island of Leyte virtually obliterated the farming village of Guinsaugon and killed an estimated 1,500 residents.
Camiguin is only 102 square miles (265 square kilometers). It has been continuously isolated from its neighbors, even during the Ice Ages of the Pleistocene, when sea levels dropped to 130 yards (120 meters) below present levels. This isolation contributed to the differentiation of the island's animals.

Detective work
The two new species were discovered as the result of recent and earlier field studies.
The parrot is a Hanging-parrot, or Colasisi, with bright green feathers covering most of the body. The throat and thighs are bright blue, and the top of the head and tail are brilliant scarlet-orange. Males and females have identical plumage, which is quite unusual in this group of parrots.

The description is based on previously unstudied specimens in The Field Museum and the Delaware Museum of Natural History collected in the 1960's by D. S. Rabor. The name for the new species is Loriculus camiguinensis, or Camiguin Hanging-parrot.

"This description is based on a series of specimens that had been part of The Field Museum's collections for almost 40 years, so our work highlights the value of collecting and preserving scientific specimens, because you may not initially realize the significance of specimens," said John Bates, Curator of Birds and Chair of Zoology at The Field Museum, and a co-author of one of the Fieldiana reports. "If we did not have a series of specimens from Camiguin and additional series of Hanging-parrots from other Philippine Islands, we probably would have assumed that the single bird that prompted our investigation was just odd looking, and we would not have been able to recognize it as distinctive."

One of Loriculus camiguinensis' characteristics that was key to identifying it as a new species is the fact that its plumage is relatively dull compared to other Philippine Hanging-parrots. This is consistent with the documented tendency for some isolated bird populations to lose bright plumage, the authors note.
Because Loriculus camiguinensis has not been recognized as a separate species, little is known about its habits, and it has been overlooked in terms of conservation. The discovery has spurred interest in the field studies needed to establish the population size and requirements as a prerequisite for conservation planning and action.

After learning about the Fieldiana manuscript, Thomas Arndt, a German parrot enthusiast, made a trip to Camiguin to look for these birds. He photographed the parrots and is preparing a publication about his findings.

The new mammal is a Philippine forest mouse, now identified as Apomys camiguinensis. It has large ears and eyes, a long tail and rusty-brown fur, and it feeds mostly on insects and seeds. The description is based on mice captured on Camiguin during a biological survey Heaney and Tabaranza conducted in 1994 and 1995, high on the steep slopes of one of the island's volcanoes. Local people had not previously known of the mouse, though they have known of the parrot because of its value in the pet trade.

In 2002, Heaney, Tabaranza, and Eric Rickart, of the Utah Museum of Natural History, described a different species of forest-living rodent, Bullimus gamay, from Mt. Timpoong, the same mountain where the new mouse was collected. A frog (Oreophryne nana) named in 1967 had been thought to be the only vertebrate restricted to the island prior to the surveys by Heaney and Tabaranza.
"Very few states in the United States, and few countries in Europe, have four endemic species of vertebrates, making it clear why tiny Camiguin Island is deserving of international attention," Heaney said. "And it is almost certain that other organisms on Camiguin are also endemic; they just have not been studied yet."

Source: Avin Deen   via  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orientalbirding/
  • NEW BIRD SPECIES FOUND IN SARAWAK                                   

Amid the bird flu scare in the country, an inspiring discovery of a new bird has been made in Sarawak. 

Although the small sub-species of the Eyebrowed Jungle-Flycatcher (Rhinomyias gularis) was discovered in October 1996, it was only disclosed in a recent journal of the Sarawak Museum department, which described the bird as having a body length of 158mm and weighing 28g. 
The museum's zoologist and curator of natural history, Dr Charles Leh Moi Ung, said the discovery was significant to science as the last bird species found in Sarawak was described in the mid-1960s. 

The latest discovery was made at the Pa' Di'it waterfalls, 1,524m above sea level in Pulong Tau National Park in the Kelabit highlands of the state's northern region.  Trapped by field ornithologist Slim Sreedharan, an associate of the Sarawak Museum, the new bird has been given the sub-species name kamlae, in honour of his wife Kamla, whose study of Borneo birds was short-lived following her death from a terminal illness. 

Sreedharan is a retired serviceman from Selangor who has spent many years making observations of birds in Sarawak. The bird was believed to be two to three years old when it was trapped, Dr Leh told The Star, adding that they considered it to be endemic to the Kelabit highlands. 
"We are watching out for additional specimens of the same sub-species, in order to upgrade the status of the new bird to a full species," he said. 

The genus Rhinomyias consists of eight medium-sized to large species. The new bird is, however, a lot larger than most other Rhinomyias flycatchers that had been caught. 

"Borneo is so well studied that it is difficult to find a new bird species or mammal," Dr Leh said. 
The discovery of Rhinomyias gularis kamlae had shown that there still could be species that had yet to be found in the country, he said. 
He added that researchers from Europe and North America had, between 1850 and 1940, described a lot of bird species in Sarawak and many of these bird specimens could be found in museums abroad. 
Dr Leh said the Sarawak Museum had a collection of about 550 bird species. 
He said birds were important for scientific studies because some migratory birds are believed to carry diseases. 
"In the Bario highlands in northern Sarawak, we see migratory birds from southern China stopping to feed before continuing their journey to Australia," he added. 

Source: Jack Wong   via  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/megabirds/
  • NEW SPECIES FOUND IN PAPUA "EDEN" 
                              
An international team of scientists says it has found a "lost world" in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of new animal and plant species.
"It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth," said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the group.
The team recorded new butterflies, frogs, and a series of remarkable plants that included five new palms and a giant rhododendron flower. The survey also found a honeyeater bird that was previously unknown to science.

The research group - from the US, Indonesia and Australia - trekked through an area in the mist-shrouded Foja Mountains, located just north of the vast Mamberamo Basin of north-western (Indonesian) New Guinea.
The researchers spent nearly a month in the locality, detailing the wildlife and plant life from the lower hills to near the summit of the Foja range, which reaches more than 2,000m in elevation.
"It's beautiful, untouched, unpopulated forest; there's no evidence of human impact or presence up in these mountains," Dr Beehler told the BBC News website.

"We were dropped in by helicopter. There's not a trail anywhere; it was really hard to get around."
He said that even two local indigenous groups, the Kwerba and Papasena people, customary landowners of the forest who accompanied the scientists, were astonished at the area's isolation.
"The men from the local villages came with us and they made it clear that no one they knew had been anywhere near this area - not even their ancestors," Mr Beehler said.

One of the team's most remarkable discoveries was a honeyeater bird with a bright orange patch on its face - the first new bird species to be sighted on the island of New Guinea in more than 60 years.
The researchers also solved a major ornithological mystery - the location of the homeland of Berlepsch's six-wired bird of paradise.  First described in the late 19th Century through specimens collected by indigenous hunters from an unknown location on New Guinea, the species had been the focus of several subsequent expeditions that failed to find it. On only the second day of the team's expedition, the amazed scientists watched as a male Berlepsch's bird of paradise performed a mating dance for an attending female in the field camp.
It was the first time a live male of the species had been observed by Western scientists, and proved that the Foja Mountains was the species' true home.
"This bird had been filed away and forgotten; it had been lost. To rediscover it was, for me, in some ways, more exciting than finding the honeyeater. I spent 20 years working on birds of paradise; they're pretty darn sexy beasts," Dr Beehler enthused.
The team also recorded a golden-mantled tree kangaroo, which was previously thought to have been hunted to near-extinction.

Unafraid of humans
Mr Beehler said some of the creatures the team came into contact with were remarkably unafraid of humans.
Two long-beaked echidnas, primitive egg-laying mammals, even allowed scientists to pick them up and bring them back to their camp to be studied, he added.
The December 2005 expedition was organised by the US-based organisation Conservation International, together with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
The team says it did not have nearly enough time during its expedition to survey the area completely and intends to return later in the year.
The locality lies within a protected zone and Dr Beehler believes its future is secure in the short term.
"The key investment is the local communities. Their knowledge, appreciation and oral traditions are so important. They are the forest stewards who will look after these assets," Dr Beehler told the BBC.

A summary of the team's main discoveries:
•A new species of honeyeater, the first new bird species discovered on the island of New Guinea since 1939
•The formerly unknown breeding grounds of a "lost" bird of paradise - the six-wired bird of paradise (Parotia berlepschi)
•First photographs of the golden-fronted bowerbird displaying at its bower.
•A new large mammal for Indonesia, the golden-mantled tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus pulcherrimus)
•More than 20 new species of frogs, including a tiny microhylid frog less than 14mm long
•A series of previously undescribed plant species, including five new species of palms
•A remarkable white-flowered rhododendron with flower about 15cm across
•Four new butterfly species.
  • A NEW SPECIES OF SCIMITAR-BABBLER FROM THE SUB-HIMALAYAN REGION OF MYANMAR
                            
An expedition of representatives from the Myanmar Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Centre visited the town of Naung Mung on the Nam Tisang River in the extreme northern portion of Kachin State, Myanmar, during February 2004......to find out more click here


Source: The Auk: Vol. 122, No. 4, pp. 1064-1069
  • SOUTHERN HELMETED CURASSOWS REDISCOVERED
                            
Earlier this year, a team from Asociacion Armonía (BirdLife in Bolivia) saw one and heard three more Southern Helmeted Curassows Crax unicornis koepckeae in the Sira mountains of central Peru; the first time the distinctive endemic Peruvian race of this Endangered species has been seen since 1969.

An environmental awareness project, supported by the Nuttall Ornithological Club Charles Blake Fund Grant, has informed local people about their unique bird and T-shirts and school notebooks have been distributed that depict a curassow painting by Waldo Huaman along with the words "Cuidemos al Piuri porque está desapareciendo. Sólo vive en los cerros de El Sira - Peru. Nuestros hijos también quieren conocerlo." ["Protect Piuri (the curassow's local name) because it is disappearing. It only lives in Sira Mountains - Peru. Our children also want to know it."]

Local people reported hunting the curassow in the past, but there was genuine enthusiasm to protect their special bird now they appreciated its global significance. The team hopes to develop a long-term conservation project in the Sira mountains, to continue their awareness work, educate local people about sustainable use of natural resources, and contract a team of park guards, and will return to the area this October thanks to a grant from Sweden's Club 300.
  • A NEW SPECIES OF GNATCATCHER FROM WHITE SANDS FOREST OF NORTHERN AMAZONIAN PERU                              

Bret M. Whitney, and Jose Alvarez Alonso

We describe a new species of gnatcatcher, Iquitos Gnatcatcher Polioptila clementsi, from white-sand (varillal) forest at the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve, about 25 km by road west of Iquitos, Peru. To date, the new species is known only from the reserve, and is rare even there. Comparisons of morphological and vocal characters confirm that it is a member of the Polioptila guianensis complex, which comprises at least three poorly known, allopatric taxa ranging from the Guianas and the Rio Negro region through much of Amazonia south of the Amazon River. Roughly equivalent levels of phenotypic differentiation are documented for all taxa east of the Andes, including the new species. In consideration of the fact that some other species complexes in the genus comprise sister taxa showing lower levels of phenotypic differentiation, both morphologically and vocally, we recommend that Polioptila guianensis, P.facilis, and P.paraensis henceforth be recognized as separate species.
(Being published as a new species in Wilson Bull .,)

  • REDISCOVERY OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER IN ARKANSAS                                         

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis, one of the largest and most spectacular of the world’s woodpeckers, has been rediscovered in North America. The news, the subject of an announcement by the journal Science later today, has stunned ornithologists world-wide, since the species was assessed by the IUCN as Extinct in 1996.

Recent sightings in the Mississippi River basin, involved at least one bird, a male. More may be present, since potential habitat for a thinly distributed source population is vast.

The species was once uncommon but widespread across lowland primary forest of the southeastern United States. No living Ivory-billed Woodpecker had been conclusively documented in continental North America since an unpaired female was seen in cut-over forest remnants in 1944.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is one of six North American bird species assumed to have gone extinct since 1880. The others are Labrador Duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius), Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis), Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis), Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), and Bachman's Warbler (Vermivora bachmanii).

“This provides hope for 18 species classified by us as Potentially Extinct,” said Dr Stuart Butchart of BirdLife International. “Extinction—the disappearance of the last individual of a species—is very difficult to detect. Listing as Extinct has significant conservation implications, because conservation funding is, justifiably, not targeted at species believed to be extinct. Conservationists are therefore reluctant to designate species as Extinct if there is any reasonable possibility that they may still be extant, in order to avoid the ‘Romeo error’, where we might give up on a species before it is too late.”
  • NEW NIGHTJAR SPECIES DISCOVERED IN INDONESIA

I am pleased to inform you that Frank Rozendaal and I have published a revision of the Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus) complex, in which we describe a new species from eastern Indonesia. The proposed taxonomy is largely based on vocalizations.

We have named the new species Mees's Nightjar (Caprimulgus meesi) after Dr Gerlof Mees, former curator of the RMNH, Leiden. The species is restricted to the islands of Flores and Sumba where it is sympatric with Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis).

As we discuss in our paper, the new species probably is not rare in suitable habitat.

The full citation is as follows:
Sangster, G. & Rozendaal, F.G. 2004. Systematic notes on Asian birds. 41. Territorial songs and species-level taxonomy of nightjars of the Caprimulgus macrurus complex, with description of a new species. Zool. Verhand., Leiden 350: 7-45.

Source: