Flycatchers and fantails: new songbirds discovered on tiny islands

Five species and five subspecies found in Indonesia in the largest discovery of its kind in more than a century

Patrick Greenfield

Thu 9 Jan 2020 19.00 GMT Last modified on Thu 9 Jan 2020 19.25 GMT

Ten new songbird species and subspecies have been identified on a trio of previously under-explored Indonesian islands in the largest discovery of its kind in more than a century, according to a new study.

Hidden away on the remote Wallacean islands of Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka, close to where British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace independently developed the theory of evolution to Charles Darwin, five new bird species and five subspecies were detected during a six-week expedition to the area, off the coast of Sulawesi.

Although birds are among the most comprehensively documented animal classes, with only a handful of new species identified each year, the pioneering methodology used in the study, published in the journal Science, has raised the prospect of further discoveries around the world. The researchers concentrated their efforts on the islands of Taliabu and Peleng due to their likely high biodiversity because of their genetic isolation over the last few million years, revealed by using sea-depth analysis of the deep water channels in the archipelago.

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Research on Nesting Fantails Informs Conservation of Rare Birds

11 JUN 2019

STEPHANIE DITTRICH

In New Zealand, conservationists are studying the nesting behavior of Fantails in hopes it will glean insights into the behavior of rare, Endangered birds.

Many bird species are on the brink of extinction due to the presence of invasive rats. So, it should come as no surprise that within conservation, rare birds are a high priority. Unfortunately, their rarity also makes them much more difficult to study and protect. These at-risk species have low population numbers and are often found in remote, hard to access locations such as islands and understanding how invasive rats impact their breeding success is crucial to protecting them. That is why researchers in New Zealand decided to explore the impacts of invasive rats using a common bird species that isn’t endangered.  

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