'Extinct' bird rediscovered: Last seen in 1941

[Demeter]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150305110237.htm


Credit: ROBERT TIZARD/WCS

A scientific team has rediscovered a bird previously thought to be extinct. Jerdon's babbler (Chrysomma altirostre) had not been seen in Myanmar since July 1941, where it was last found in grasslands near the town of Myitkyo, Bago Region near the Sittaung River. The rediscovery was described in the recently published issue of Birding Asia, the magazine of the Oriental Bird Club.

The team found the bird on 30 May 2014 while surveying a site around an abandoned agricultural station that still contained some grassland habitat. After hearing the bird's distinct call, the scientists played back a recording and were rewarded with the sighting of an adult Jerdon's babbler. Over the next 48 hours, the team repeatedly found Jerdon's babblers at several locations in the immediate vicinity and managed to obtain blood samples and high-quality photographs.

The small brown bird, about the size of a house sparrow, was initially described by British naturalist T. C. Jerdon in January 1862, who found it in grassy plains near Thayetmyo. At the beginning of the 20th century, the species was common in the vast natural grassland that once covered the Ayeyarwady and Sittaung flood plains around Yangon. Since then, agriculture and communities have gradually replaced most of these grasslands as the area has developed.

Said Mr Colin Poole, Director of WCS's Regional Conservation Hub in Singapore, "The degradation of these vast grasslands had led many to consider this subspecies of Jerdon's Babbler extinct. This discovery not only proves that the species still exists in Myanmar but that the habitat can still be found as well. Future work is needed to identify remaining pockets of natural grassland and develop systems for local communities to conserve and benefit from them."

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[shenmue]

1. I love birdees!!!!!

[Jefferson23]

2. How cool is that! The bird was named the babbler due to his distinct call, I guess? K&R

[Demeter]

3. I really needed some good news...and I hope you all find similar relief

Demeter

[love_katz]

4. Great news.

I agree, Demeter, I needed some good news. This is wonderful.

[Judi Lynn]

5. So tiny, too. Wonderful discovery. n/t

[Demeter]

6. We all realize, I hope, that the local people probably knew it was there all along

It is only the scientists who were in doubt...and who now have a new possible species to play with.

but it's nice to think the Corporations missed one.

[The Stranger]

7. How about addressing human overpopulation? When humans don't obliterate all other habitats,

other species can share the planet with us.