Neotropical Birding » Conservation

New Species of Antpitta from Colombia

Jean Paul Perret — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:55:41 +0000

UPDATE 6/25/2010: One month ago we published the description of this species in the middle of a controversy between ProAves and Mr. Caranton who discovered and collected the species. At that time we only had access to ProAves version since Mr Caranton had not yet published his description. Now we provide the other side of the story hopping that our readers can draw their own conclusions.

A NEW SPECIES OF ANTPITTA (GRALLARIIDAE: GRALLARIA ) FROM THE NORTHERN SECTOR OF THE WESTERN ANDES OF COLOMBIA

The Price of Priority

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ORIGINAL POST

A new species of bird for science has been discovered and named after a leading conservation family. The bird is named Fenwick’s Antpitta (Grallaria fenwickorum), after American Bird Conservancy (ABC) President George Fenwick and his family.

Fenwick’s Antpitta | © ProAves Colombia

The announcement was made after a comprehensive two-year study and review process following the bird’s discovery in 2008. The capture and evaluation process itself was remarkable in that it is one of the first times that a new species for science has been described from an individual captured, banded, measured, photographed, sampled for DNA, and then released alive back into the wild.

The bird that provided the so-called “holotype” for the description was captured in the Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve located on the Paramo del Sol massif in the western Andes of Colombia. The reserve is managed by Fundación ProAves. The 11,322 acre reserve, founded in 2005, is known for a stunning array of threatened birds, including the Critically Endangered Dusky Starfrontlet that was rediscovered in 2004 after being “lost” for over 50 years, and which provided the initial impetus for the Fenwick family’s support to establish the bird reserve.

Habitat | © ProAves Colombia

The new bird species inhabits a highly restricted area of montane cloud forest where dwarf bamboo thickets thrive on rich volcanic soils on the less-humid eastern-facing slopes; a habitat that has undergone extensive clearance for pasturelands in recent decades. The bird has been proposed as Critically Endangered under IUCN-World Conservation Union criteria, with a population described as extremely small and of great conservation concern, making it a priority for ABC.

Fenwick’s Antpitta is a medium-sized, cinnamon and gray colored, thrush-like bird, with a height of about seven inches, and a weight of only about two ounces. G. fenwickorum is considered probably most closely related to Brown-banded Antpitta G. milleri due to similarities in voice and biometrics and generally non-descript plumage. There are two described subspecies of G. milleri: G. m. milleri occurs 165 km southeast in the Central Andes, and the larger G. m. gilesi occurs 70 km east in the northern sector of the Central Andes. G. fenwickorum can be easily diagnosed from both taxa by the complete lack of a brown breast band (with the breast instead being uniform slate grey) and lighter brown dorsal plumage. Its vocalizations are also distinct.

Fenwick’s Antpitta | © ProAves Colombia

The song of Grallaria fenwickorum consists of three notes, progressively increasing in acoustic frequency and length, with the first note briefest and lowest, and the final note longest and highest. The song could be transcribed as: “tu, tuut, TUUET”. The song of G. milleri is similar to that of G. fenwickorum, also comprising three notes of progressively higher pitch and greater length. However, each note of the G. milleri song is diagnosably longer and higher pitched than the equivalent note in G. fenwickorum.

Read the complete description of the species here.

Photos: ProAves Colombia

Source: American Bird Conservancy and ProAves Colombia

Help Us to Conserve the Long-whiskered Owlet

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:20:03 +0000

Please help us conserve one of the most enigmatic owl species of the world, the Long-whiskered Owlet. This species was discovered in 1976 and since then has been observed in the wild only by a few people, perhaps less than 10 times. It is found only in the montane forests of northern Peru, an area that is threatened by the rapid development of agriculture and mining.

In an effort to preserve the Long-whiskered Owlet habitat, the local NGO ECOAN created a private reserve around Abra Patricia, an area that now is famous worldwide for birders. Many tourists visit Abra Patricia hoping to find this bird, but despite their efforts they usually never see it.

In 2009, the Israeli birder Shachar Alterman was able to find Long-whiskered Owlets living in a forest 30 km. from Abra Patricia, outside the protected area. This place has become the best (and only) place to observe this species. So far five groups of birdwatchers have visited the area and they all have observed the Owlet as well as two other rare and endemic species of birds; Rusty-Tinged Antpitta, Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant. Another very interesting species that can be observed in these forests includes the Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey, also in danger of extinction with a restricted range in northern Peru.

Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey | © Noga Shanee/NPC

Shachar Alterman was part of a group of enthusiastic conservationists from the Neotropical Primate Conservation. They are trying to protect the forest area through a partnership with the local community. The community has taken the first steps to have this area designated as a protected space by the national government. Their greatest hope is that ecotourism will help protect the forest and the species that inhabit it, including the Long-whiskered Owlet.

It takes approximately three and a half hours to reach this area through difficult terrain. But this hike is a small effort in comparison to the rewarding experience of seeing this rare species in its habitat.

How can you help?

Our company wants to support the efforts of the community, La Esperanza, by offering tours to this forest. This tour will include a short visit to the Florida/Pomacochas area where you can see another beautiful and endemic species including the Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird. You can also combine this trip with a longer visit to the area around Abra Patricia. For more details please see our information page. If you want to set a date for this tour or if you have questions please feel free to contact us.
Additionally, our company is evaluating a compensation scheme for carbon emissions for all tours available in Peru. Proceeds will go directly to Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC) to support the conservation of these forests.
Neotropical Birding Tours will also make a donation to the NPC reforestation program to plant 50 trees for every tourist that take part in this tour.
If you can’t travel to the area, but want to contribute to the project, please consider making a donation directly to Neotropical Primate Conservation.

A photographic journey to Chaparrí

Jean Paul Perret — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:19:06 +0000

Our first trip of the year in northern Peru was a success! We spent a few days at the Private Conservation Area of Chaparrí taking pictures of birds and animals found in this beautiful forest.

Chaparrí is a reserve that protects 34 thousand hectares of dry forest in the Tumbesian Endemic Bird Area. The reserve covers an altitudinal range that goes from 150 m to 1350 m, which encompasses a great variety of habitats. This variety of habitats is correlated with the reserve’s great diversity of birds; over 200 species have been registered at Chaparrí and in its surrounding area, including more than 40 Tumbesian endemics. Among these bird species include some gems such as the Tumbes Tyrant and the reintroduced White-winged Guan. But Chaparrí is not only about birds, in these forests you can also found Spectacled bears, Pumas, White-tailed Deer and the Sechura Fox.

Spectacled Bear | © Jean Paul Perret

Sechura Fox | © Jean Paul Perret

One of the great opportunities of this trip was to see Chaparrí during the rainy season. As mentioned above, Chaparrí is located in a dry forest which means that from May to December most trees lose their leaves due to the lack of rain. Trees near the small creeks keep their leaves all year and became a refuge for birds and other animals. The rest of the year, from January to April, the forest changes its character entirely. With seasonal rains the trees regain their leaves. The air fills with the fresh sensation of the moist forest and the sweet smell of the Palo Santo tree (Bursera graveolens) and the birds begin their breeding season.

Landscape at Chaparrí | © Jean Paul Perret

We were lucky to spend a few days birding in this area, observing birds such as Long-billed Starthroat, Tumbes Hummingbird, Scarlet-backed Woodpecker, Collared Antshrike, Brown-chested Martin, Plumbeous-backed Trush, White-tailed Jay, Cinereous Finch (endemic), Tumbes Sparrow and, of course, the reintroduced and endangered White-winged Guan among others.

White-tailed Jay | © Jean Paul Perret

Our next trip to this area will include the Marañón Valley, home to many endemics, and the de Abra Patricia and Pomacochas area where you can catch a glimpse of mythic birds such as the Long-whiskered Owlet, the Marvelous Spatuletail Hummingbird and many other recently described species.

White-winged Guan | © Jean Paul Perret

Burrowing Owl | © Jean Paul Perret

Tropical Gnatcatcher | © Jean Paul Perret

Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant | © Jean Paul Perret

Tapaculo Mystery Solved

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:52:04 +0000

The Tapaculos (genus Scytalopus) is one of the most difficult to identify families of birds, mainly because of the similarity in appearance to others within the genus. However an important differentiating characteristic is their voice. In recent years many new species of Tapaculos have been described due to analyses of their song.

On February 9th, Dr. Niels Krabbe and Dr. Daniel Cadena from Fundación ProAves Colombia published in Zootaxa a revision to the Paramo Tapaculo. They identifed multiple taxa (three differentiated lineages), including a new subspecies – Scytalopus opacus androstictus – from southern Ecuador and northernmost Peru. The original “Paramo Tapaculo” has changed its name to "Paramillo Tapaculo" (Scytalopus canus) and is now only known from a highly restricted area of timberline vegetation on Paramo de Paramillo and Paramo del Sol. The subspecies Scytalopus canus opacus has been given species ranking and given the name Paramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus) which occurs across the Northern Andes of Colombia (except the Western Cordillera), Ecuador and northernmost Peru.

Paramillo Tapaculo | ProAves Colombia

At present the Paramillo Tapaculo is only known from Páramo de Paramillo and Páramo de Frontino. It may occur elsewhere in the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. The Paramillo Tapaculo is restricted to a narrow swath of treeline vegetation (scrub, stunted trees and Polylepis woodland) situated between montane forest and Páramo grasslands that is often just hundreds of meters wide. While locally common, the estimated area of suitable habitat within the known range of the Paramillo Tapaculo is 3 km² in total. Only 0.1 km² is effectively protected by the Fundación ProAves Colibri del Sol Bird Reserve.

According to ProAves Colombia, the Paramillo Tapaculo has not been assessed by IUCN. Given the estimated extent of occurrence and observed decline in the extent and quality of habitat, the Paramillo Tapaculo probably warrants IUCN Critically Endangered status with immediate efforts to assess its population and implement actions to assist its survival.

Listen to the song of the Paramillo Tapaculo:

Paramillo Tapaculo

For more songs follow the Xeno-Canto link

After 50 years, Andean Condors are spotted in Leymebamba

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:03:45 +0000

After 50 years of absence, the Andean Condor has started to regain lost ground in the mountains of Leymebamba in the Amazon region of Peru.

In the last months of 2009, residents of this area of cloud forest saw two pairs of Andean condors flying over the mountains. A juvenile was later found when, in trying to learn to fly, it broke a leg and was caught in the trees. Fortunately it was rescued by the researcher Adriana von Hagen who took care of the juvenile for three weeks until it completely recovered and was subsequently released.

Juvenile Andean Condor | Adriana von Hagen

The Forestry and Wildlife authority of the Amazonas, took the opportunity to raise awareness among local people, who have the mistaken belief that the carrion birds are to blame for the death and disappearance of their cattle and other animals.

The Andean Condors are associated with the popular Lake of the Condors which is in the vicinity of Leymebamba, where several years ago archaeologists uncovered hundreds of Chachapoyas mummies that are now part of an exhibition in the Leymebamba Museum.

The Marvelous Spatuletail

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:52:48 +0000

The Marvelous Spatuletail is a small hummingbird restricted to a tiny area inside the Uctubamba Valley in the Peruvian Andes. This small hummingbird is known from three areas (north and south-east of Leimebamba, the Chachapoyas area and Florida, on the shore of Lago Pomacochas). However, the only recent records are from Florida.

It lives at the edge of humid forest, secondary growth and in dense shrubbery. Its preferred food-plant is the red-flowered lily Alstroemeria (Bomarea) formosissima, but it has been observed feeding on at least five other species of flowering plant.

The breeding season is thought to run from late October to early May. Adult males (which are greatly outnumbered by females and immature males) gather at leks where they display to attract females.

Distribution Map

Map: Xeno-Canto

As this bird species is restricted to a small area of habitat, it is classified as an endangered species according to BirdLife. Fortunately, there are some conservation projects going on to help this situation. ECOAN, a Peruvian NGO, with the support of the American Bird Conservancy, is working to create a reserve for this hummingbird and to restore it’s natural habitat. Ecotourism could play an important role in the conservation of the Marvelous Spatuletail by giving an alternative income to the local population in such as way as to simultaneously support the preservation of the bird’s habitat.

Perhaps one of the most striking features of this species is the extremely long male raquet tail. Take a look into this video to see how the male use his tail to attract females.

Need more information? Read this fully detailed species account from the Threatened birds of the Americas.

Plate: John Gould (1849): A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-birds, plate 161.

The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

Jean Paul Perret — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:13:44 +0000

The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000, establishes a matching grants program to fund projects that promote the conservation of migratory birds in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The grants program began supporting projects in 2002, when it received its first appropriation in the amount of $3 million. Funding for the program was $4.5 million in 2008. At least 75 percent of the total funding available for grants each fiscal year is to be used to support projects outside the USA.

Between 2002 and 2008, the program supported 260 projects, coordinated by partners in 48 U.S. states/territories and 36 countries. More than $25.5 million from NMBCA grants have leveraged about $116.5 million in matching funds and $6.1 million in nonmatching funds. Projects involving land conservation have affected about 1.9 million acres of bird habitat.

There is a proposal to increase funding for this program, please support this initiative by sending a message to your Representative and Senators here.

Photo: Blackburnian Warbler, Credit: Michael under Creative Commons License 2.0

New Refuge to Protect Neotropical Birds in the Dominican Republic

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:22:52 +0000

Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic, has announced the creation of a new refuge “Reserva Biologica Loma Charco Azul” on the northwestern border of Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, a global biodiversity hotspot.

“With 30 endemic bird species, Hispaniola ranks high in global importance for bird conservation,” said Dr. George Wallace, American Bird Conservancy’s Vice President of Oceans and Islands. “With forests in Haiti virtually gone and an accelerated rate of forest loss in the Dominican Republic, many of these species face a bleak future—of the 30 species, 14 are ranked by IUCN as globally threatened. That’s why expanding land protected in the vicinity of Sierra de Bahoruco is so important and such a significant accomplishment.”

Hispaniolian Parrot ©Pedro Genaro Rodríguez

In addition, over 30 species of Neotropical migratory birds have been recorded there; they form an important component of the biodiversity during the northern winter, making up more than 50% of the bird life in some habitats, particularly pine forests.

The Bahoruco National Park is the most important remaining forested site for endemic birds in the Dominican Republic. The park is seriously threatened by slash and burn agriculture, hunting, the collection of birds for the pet trade, and potentially mining and unplanned tourism development.

Bay-breasted Cuckoo ©Lance Woolaver

This site, is the global stronghold for three endangered species—Bay-breasted Cuckoo, La Selle Thrush, and Hispaniolan Crossbill—and five more that are globally vulnerable—Hispaniolan Parrot, Hispaniolan Parakeet, Golden Swallow, Chat Tanager, and White-winged Warbler. Other endangered species such a Bicknell’s Thrush and the Black-capped Petrel are also present.

More information from American Bird Conservancy here.

Special thanks to Pedro Genaro Rodríguez for the Hispaniolan Parrot photo, con can see more photos in his website www.pedrogenaro.com

Second Chances: Rediscovering Lost and Extinct Birds. Part II

Jean Paul Perret — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:40:37 +0000

Rediscovered Bird Species in Peru and the Neotropical Region

This is the second part in a three part blog series examining the phenomenon of rediscovering bird species that were once thought lost or extinct.

Rediscovered Bird Species in Peru:

White-winged Guan (Penelope albipennis)

The White-winged Guan is a classic example of rediscovered Neotropical avifauna. The species was described based on a specimen collected in the Tumbes mangroves, near the border between Peru and Ecuador by the Polish zoologist Władysław Taczanowski in 1876. It wasn’t seen again for nearly 100 years and it was thought extinct until the conservationist Gustavo del Solar rediscovered it in the dry forests of northern Peru with the help of local people. An initial assessment found that there were very few in the wild, so it was decided to start a captive breeding program. Subsequently White-winged Guan born into captivity have begun to be released into their native habitat, establishing new populations in surrounding forests.

White-masked Antbird (Pithys castaneus)

In 1938, Berlioz described a distinctive new species of antbird in the genus Pithys, from a single specimen collected by Ramon Olalla on September 16, 1937, at ‘‘Andoas, lower Pastaza, eastern Ecuador’’. This new species, the White-masked Antbird (Pithys castaneus), has remained one of the most intriguing mysteries of Neotropical ornithology for over 60 years. It was thought extinct until its rediscovery by Thomas Valqui on July 3, 2001, in the northwestern Morona River, Loreto, Peru.

Imperial Snipe (Gallinago imperialis)

In 1869, Sclater and Salvin described a large, richly colored snipe from a single specimen obtained from the Andes in the vicinity of Bogota, Colombia, and named it Gallinago imperialis. There were no records of this species until its rediscovery by John Terborgh in the summer of 1967 in the Cordillera de Vilcabamba, Peru. Later, in 1990 it was found again by Niels Krabbe, high on the volcano Pichincha in Ecuador.

Equatorial Graytail (Xenerpestes singularis)

This bird was described in 1885 from a single specimen collected by Stolzmann at Mapoto, Provincia Ampato, in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. It was re-discovered in September 1977 in the cloud forests of the department of San Martin in northern Peru by Ted Parker. Later the Equatorial Graytail was also found in other localities in the department of Cajamarca in Peru.

Yellow-browed Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus huallagae)

The Yellow-browed Toucanet was described from a single male specimen collected "on the trail to Utcubamba, in the Huallaga Valley, east of Tayabamba" Peru, on May 3, 1932, by Carriker. The specimen was collected from "a small band" of birds, the only individuals he saw in the area. The species was not seen again for 47 years, until 1979, when members of a Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science (LSUMZ) expedition found them while following Carriker’s trail.

Rediscovered Bird Species in the Neotropical Region:

Golden-crowned Manakin (Lepidotrix vilasboasi)

The Golden-crowned Manakin was first discovered by German scientist Helmut Sick in 1957, and was officially recognized as a species in 1959. On May 14, 2002, it was rediscovered after many years in Brazil. Fábio Olmos who, together with José Fernando Pacheco, rediscovered the species said: "We were thrilled to find the lost manakin – quite distinctive from other manakins." He added: "The local economy is based on logging and cattle-ranching on cleared land. The Brazilian government is encouraging colonization but has no way of controlling loggers, squatters, colonists and gold miners once access is created. Forest destruction will remain a major threat to the long-term survival of this beautiful bird and other wildlife of the area."

Pale-headed Brush-Finch (Atlapetes pallidiceps)

The Pale-headed Brush-finch is a bird endemic to the Rio Jubones Valley in Azuay Province, Ecuador. It went unrecorded for 30 years despite several searches at the localities where the species had been collected in the 1960s. In November 1998, a small population of 10-20 birds was rediscovered in a side valley of the Rio Jubones drainage. Today this small population is protected in a private reserve created for this species.

Fuertes’s Parrot (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi)

On July 28, 2003, researchers of ProAves Colombia, supported by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the World Parrot Trust (WPT), rediscovered one of the world’s rarest parrots in the high Andes of Colombia confirming the survival of this long lost species. Colombian ornithologists Jorge Velasquez and Alonso Quevedo found a flock of 14 Fuertes’s Parrots in a remote area of the central Andes close to Los Nevados National Park. The species was originally described in 1911 by two bird collectors from the American Museum of Natural History in New York – Leo Miller and Arthur Allen.

Kaempfer’s (Caatinga) Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni)

This species was first collected by E. Kaempfer on August 16, 1926, and deposited at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In 1973, the specimen was recognized as a subspecies of Rufous-headed Woodpecker, until a commission of the SACC’s classified it as a distinct species in 2003. On October 21, 2006, it was rediscovered by Advaldo Dias do Prado and co-workers when they mist-netted and photographed a male of this species at Goiatins, in the state of Tocantins.

A special thanks to ProAves Colombia for the Fuertes’s Parrot photo. You can see more about their work to conserve Colombian avifauna here.

Second Chances: Rediscovering Lost and Extinct Birds I

Jean Paul Perret — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:16:00 +0000

When I started writing this post I spent a couple of days reading articles and taking notes about the subject. At the end of the day I had too much information to be included in a single posting. I have therefore decided to launch a series that will be divided into three parts. In Part I I will talk about the reasons why a species once thought extinct, returns. Part II will be an historical account of some species of birds from Peru, the Neotropical region and the world that at some point were "lost" or considered extinct. Finally, in Part III I will discuss bird species in the Neotropical region that are considered lost species waiting to be rediscovered.

Part I: Why we Rediscover Lost and Extinct Birds?

In recent months we have witnessed the rediscovery of two species of birds thought to be extinct – the Fiji Petrel and the Banggai Crow. How it is possible that a species believed to be extinct is rediscovered?

One explanation for the rediscovery of bird species relates to the way that many species are initially described, using the skins of birds collected by naturalists during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many of these skins were not immediately reviewed when collected and have remained in storage, unstudied for decades. Only when a researcher takes these specimens out years later are new species recognized. This happened with Kaempfer’s (Caatinga) Woodpecker, collected in 1926, recognized as a sub species in 1973 and then elevated to species in 2003. In the more than seventy years that elapsed between collection and description of the species, it was believed that the species had become extinct until the first wild population of this newly recognized species was rediscovered in 2006.

Another reason behind the rediscovery of species is that museums sometimes have skins that are not properly labeled or the true geographic origins of the species are vague or unknown. A good example of this is the case of the Coppery Thorntail, known from two skins collected in 1852 somewhere in Bolivia. This lack of geographic detail as well as the fact that Bolivian boundaries have changed greatly since the time of collection has resulted in the fact that no person has yet seen this species in its habitat. However, the door is open for the possibility of rediscovery.

Confusion about the existence of certain species also arises when there are few specimens available for study. Scientists are challenged to classify whether these rare museum specimens truly represent a distinct species or if they are hybrids of other species. This happened with the White-masked Antibird. Scientists had been doubtful about the existence of the White-masked Antibird until it was recently rediscovered in Peru.

A slightly different scenario than rediscovering a species after it has been labeled extinct is recognizing that an ‘extinct’ species cannot be found because it never existed. Some ‘new’ species have been misidentified and are actually part of an extant species. This is the case with the Red-throated Wood-rail of Peru that went from being considered an extinct species to being dubious taxa by the SACC. The supposed Red-throated Wood-rail is now believed to be a poorly preserved specimen of the Gray-necked Wood-rail. Something similar happened with the Kalinowski’s Tinamou, of which all trace was lost for nearly 100 years until it was "rediscovered" in 2000. However, upon rediscovery, the SACC deemed that this species designation wasn’t valid; the Kalinowski’s Tinamou is now regarded as a synonym of Ornate Tinamou, another species that lives in Peru. A similar occurrence happened in the case of the Tasman Booby, which was believed extinct and now known to be a subspecies of Masked Booby.

In other instances, species that were collected, studied and described as new species in the nineteenth century remain in oblivion because their area of distribution encompasses very remote or inaccessible places where there are no people with the knowledge to identify them in the field. This happened with the Fiji Petrel rediscovered this year and the Chinese Crested Tern rediscovered in 2000 in an inaccessible military zone between China and Taiwan. These species were never really missing or extinct; it is just that people with the knowledge to identify these birds had not traveled to these remote or inaccessible areas.

Additionally, some birds are naturally shy and only came out at dawn or night. This was the case with the Imperial Snipe, described in 1869 from a single specimen obtained from the Andes in the vicinity of Bogota, Colombia. It was not seen again until 1967 when it was found in Peru by John Terborgh. There is also the possibility that two bird species can look very much alike, thus making them hard to distinguish in the field. For example, when Beck’s Petrel was rediscovered, the Birds Australia Rarities Committee, having pictures in hand, rejected the bird’s identity because they couldn’t separate this from the Tahiti’s Petrel.

Finally, sometimes a species has become so rare due to hunting, habitat loss or natural reasons, that it becomes almost impossible to find. This may be the case with the controversial Ivory-billed Woodpecker. It was rediscovered in 2004 in the Big Woods area of Arkansas. Although there have been intensive searches throughout the region, until now there is no undisputed record about the species’ survival and the status of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker remains undetermined.

Regardless of the amazement and joy at rediscovering a species that was once thought lost, these birds still need extensive protection. Usually these species are critically endangered and need a lot of attention from governments and bird advocates to survive in the long term. Through these rediscoveries nature has given us a second chance and we must do all that is possible to conserve these and other endangered birds as well as their habitats.

There isn’t a second chance for the Carolina Parakeet, it became extinct in 1918

In Part II of this series I’ll examine a case by case account of the latest species that have been rediscovered in Peru, the Neotropical region and the world.

All photos under Creative Commons License: Carolina Parakeet photo, Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences photo © Bill Lynch