NEW BIRDS IN A VANISHING WORLD

 

One of the best things about the month of December, is the annual Christmas Bird Count ( for us it will be on the 17th this year).  About four years ago I was in Arizona for meetings, and my friend Judy took me hiking/birdwatching somewhere in mountains. On the trail we met a very friendly man, who was looking for birds and gave us some clues where to find a few I was searching for.

 Later, I found he was a well-known naturalist, who weekly leads walks on all facets of life, from plants to insects (he loves moths) to birds.

In his last newsletter there was a reference to a book (which I have ordered for Christmas) which deals with new species. We think all life, as we know it, is rapidly disappearing, especially birds, but nearly 300 species of birds have been described since 1960, a year when many ornithologists thought that world’s avifauna had been nearly fully catalogued. (10,824 species thus far listed)

This book shows a different story! Amazing as it might sound, ornithologists are still discovering, on average, five or six bird species that are completely new to science each year. What's more, these aren't all just obscure brown birds on tiny islands.  The new species include warblers,  woodcreepers, antbirds, tyrants, owls, parrots and parakeets, and even a puffbird.

Most of the newly-found species come from South America and about half of the total of new species are Sub-Saharan,  Africa  being the third most productive region for new birds.

From 2000-2009, scientists described on average seven new bird species worldwide every year. Scientists working in the southern Amazon have recorded an incredible 15 new species of birds according to the Portuguese publication Capa Aves. In fact, this is the largest group of new birds uncovered in the Brazilian in the Amazon in 140 years.

 Finding new species fast is important in the midst of a worldwide mass extinction, which seems to be hitting birds particularly hard. An example  are the potentially undiscovered species which die off in Australia’s huge fires.  And while countless others are quietly snuffed out elsewhere in the world, scientists need to redirect their efforts towards discovering new species, before they are gone forever.

 According to the blurb for the book,each species account discusses the story of the discovery, with photographs of the birds where available, along with a discussion of what is known about the species' biology, habitat, and distribution, with a strong conservation message. Most of the species in the book are either vulnerable or endangered.

Always interested in birds from Peru I found several new species: A new species of bird from the heart of Peru remained undetected for years until researchers identified it by its unique song.

 A species of  manakin, Machaeropterus eckelberryi, was discovered during a 1996 expedition to Peru. The bird was different from the local subspecies of striped manakin, but nearly identical to the subspecies (Machaeropterus regulus aureopectus) found in the distant Venezuelan tepuis. But  what divided it from other species was its distinctive voice.

This manakin’s song lacks undertones and has a one-noted rising vocalization, rather than two-noted falling vocalization with undertones or a falling monosyllabic vocalization with undertones.

 It was given the name Machaeropterus eckelberryi, commemorating the 20th century bird illustrator Don Eckelberry.  (Photo:  Kevin Berkoff)

Another lovely Peruvian bird is the Inti tananger. The species is named after the Incan sun god Inti, as a reference to its bright yellow plumage and its tendency to sing late into the morning when the sun is higher in the sky.  It breeds in and around the Machariapo Valley in western Bolivia from roughly November to March, then disperses northward along the east slope of Andes into southern Peru. It inhabits forest that has a large amount of bamboo in the understory. Its song, given from an elevated perch, is a jaunty up-and-down series that could be roughly transcribed as “pretty bird, pretty bird…” or “so pretty, so pretty…” It only sings on its breeding grounds, and is otherwise very shy, secretive and hard to see.

Another lovely species is the Cordillera Azul antbird (Myrmoderus eowilsoni). It has been found only in the Cordillera Azul, San Martín Region, of Peru where its natural habitat is humid montane forest. It was described only in 2018 by Andre Moncrieff and colleagues and given the name Myrmoderus eowilsoni. to honor the American naturalist Edward Osborne Wilson (who spent his life studying ants- not birds).

The antbirds are found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. This genus consists of more than 200 species, known variously as antshrikes, antwrens, antvireos, and bushbirds. Most species live in forests, although a few are found in other habitats. I remember them from my time in Peru. 

I look forward to finding more species to study (in a book of course).