New Bird Discovered

I have been meaning to mention something I found on Andrew's blog (Burdr) the other day...a new bird! Yes, last month an article was published in BirdingAsia, the Oriental Bird Club's journal, that detailed the discovery of a new species of bird scientists call the Spectacled Flowerpecker.

Flowerpeckers have been seen and named before, but this is a new one that spends it's time high above the forest floor at the Danum Valley Conservation Area located in Sabah, Malaysia. The only reason it was found is because of conservation methods and tourism efforts that has lead to birdwatching walkways high in the canopy of the trees.

Do go read his full article and find more pictures of this facinating find at Andrew's blog here. Wow...a new bird in 2010!

New Bird Discovered: July 2009 !!!

An odd songbird with a bald head living in a rugged region in Laos has been discovered by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Melbourne, as part of a project funded
and managed by the mining company MMG (Minerals
and Metals Group).

The thrush-sized bird is greenish-olive with a light-colored breast, a distinctive featherless, pink face with bluish skin around the eye extending to the bill and a narrow line of hair-like feathers down the centre of the crown.

Doesn't it just amaze you that wildlife is still being 'discovered'...in this day and age? I think it just goes to show us that we need to take care of our environment...we don't even know all that it holds.

Birdlife International is where I found the news and this quote: "This is exciting news and a great discovery", said Dr Lincoln Fishpool, BirdLife's Global Important Bird Areas Coordinator. "It highlights the importance of this region for birds and biodiversity." I couldn't agree more.

For more information (and a better photo), read their entire, facinating, article here.

July Birds:
Mountain Chickadee, Evening Grosbeak, Western_Wood-Pewee, White-winged Dove (yeah, she's back), Calliope Hummingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rufus Hummingbird, Mourning Dove, Great Blue Heron *, Lesser Goldfinch (black- & green-backed), Bullock's Oriole, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-headed Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Common Grackle, Turkey Vulture, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, European Starling, Northern Flicker - Red-shafted, Downy Woodpecker, Black-billed Magpie, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin, House Finch - red, yellow and orange variants, Eurasian Collared-Dove

Birding News & Tidbits

Here are a few, interesting, bird-related articles I've recently discovered. Click the bulleted titles for access to the full article.

* New Bird Species Discovered In Gabon, Africa

Called the Olive-backed Forest Robin for its distinctive olive back and rump, this small bird, which measures 4.5 inches in length, was unknown to the scientific community until just recently. Males exhibit a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. Both sexes have a distinctive white dot on their face in front of each eye.

* Birds Moving North as Earth Warms

A variety of birds are extending their breeding ranges to the north; yet another concern about climate change. 83 species were studied; it was found many extended their range boundaries by as much as 40 miles. Changes were found in birds that breed in forests and grasslands, in both insectivores and omnivores and even in new tropical migrants that are typically seen in Mexico and South America.

* Plover Overlooked in Place of Oil & Gas Projects: Bush…Again

The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Forest Guardians have filed a federal suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for refusing to protect the Mountain Plover which had been on track for listing on the Endangered Species Act in 2003…apparently until the Bush administration interfered. The mountain plover case reflects a pattern of denying endangered species protection for purely political reasons,” said Lauren McCain, deserts and grasslands program director for Forest Guardians in Denver.