21 new species added to Indonesian bird collection

Arya Dipa

The Jakarta Post

Bandung / Mon, February 17, 2020 / 06:34 pm

Twenty-one new species have been added to the list of bird species endemic to Indonesia as of the beginning of 2020, bringing the country's total to 1,794 bird species.

Achmad Ridha, a research and communication officer at nonprofit bird conservation organization Burung Indonesia, said that the additional species included seven newly described bird species - including the Alor myzomela (Myzomela prawiradilagae) and the spectacled flowerpecker (Dicaeum dayakorum) - as well as 14 species that were split off from previously discovered species.

The Alor myzomela was announced as a new species in Oct. 2019. The bird is endemic to Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara, and lives in a terrain 900 to 1,270 meters above sea level.

Meanwhile, the new Latin name given to the spectacled flowerpecker honors the Dayak people of Kalimantan, who have extensive knowledge about the flora and fauna of their native regions.

Other new species include the Peleng fantail, the Peleng leaf warbler, the Taliabu bush warbler, the Taliabu myzomela and the Taliabu leaf warbler. Three of the species are endemic to Peleng Island, Central Sulawesi, while the two other species are endemic to Taliabu Island, North Maluku.

Continued

New immigrants in Nepal

In the mountainous region of Nepal, a new species of birds has been discovered, making the overall number of avian species in the Himalayan country to 866.

A Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxitilis), seen as an autumn channel migrant bird species in Pakistan and India, photographed nearby Shey monastery within the Shey Phoksundo National Park at voyage last year. Investigators from an NGO Friends of Nature (FoN) Nepal covered the bird while reviewing Himalayan wolf, wild yak and snow leopard. The proper identification of the bird informed by the squad was completed by Carol Inskipp and Hem Sagar Baral, who are the bird experts.

The Branch of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Bird Conservation Nepal sanctioned the presence of a new bird species in the nation, said Naresh Kusi, from FoN.

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered an autumn passage migrant bird species in Pakistan and India, ‘The Kathmandu Post’ reported.

“The detection of the sight was very isolated and rarely visited by ornithologists. More research is needed to establish the position of Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush in Nepal,” said Yadav Ghimirey, director, Wildlife Research at FoN.



Source

Competition for ecological niches limits the formation of new species

Date:

May 2, 2014

Source:

University of Chicago Medical Center

Summary:

The rate at which new species evolve is limited by competition for ecological niches. The study, which analyzes the evolutionary and genetic relationships between all 461 songbird species that live in the Himalayan mountains, suggests that as ecological niches within an environment are filled, the formation of new species slows or even stops.

Read more