Indonesia New Bird Species
Scientists confirm new bird species in Indonesia.
The Sulawesi streaked flycatcher (Muscicapa sodhii) — named after the Indonesia island it’s found on — was first observed 15 years ago. But a team of researchers have only recently been able to collect and analyze the bird’s DNA, confirming the species’ genetic distinctiveness.
In a new paper, researchers from Michigan State University, Princeton University and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences describe the Sulawesi streaked flycatcher (Muscicapa sodhii) as characterized by its short wings and tail, a sharply hooking beak, as well as a mottled throat.
The newly identified species Sulawesi streaked flycatcher pictured (left) next to similar species (on right). (Photo by Teo Nam Siang / PLOS ONE)
Researchers say the new species sings a slightly different song than the bird’s fly-catching relatives. While its whistles, chirps and trills are similar to other Asian species, the Sulawesi streaked flycatcher is higher pitched than its avian cousins.
“We were lucky to be able to make the first known recording of this bird singing,” researcher Pam Rasmussen, assistant curator of mammalogy and ornithology at the Michigan State University Museum, said in a press release.
The work of Rasmussen and her colleagues — and the specifics of the new species — was published in the latest issue of the science journal PLOS ONE.
Pamela Rasmussen, assistant curator of mammalogy and ornithology at the Michigan State University Museum. (Courtesy Photo)
Researchers hope the new species recognition will lead to great protections for it and its preferred habitat, lowland and submontane forests on the Indonesian island.
“At this point, the species is not at risk for extinction,” Rasmussen said. “However, this could change if agriculture intensifies in this region.”
“Considering that 98 percent of the world’s birds have been described, finding a new species is quite rare,” added study co-author J.C. Berton Harris, a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton. “And despite being a globally important avian hotspot, Sulawesi has largely gone unstudied by ornithologists.”
Source: Brooks Hays / UPI
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Song of Sulawesi Streaked Flycatcher
This is a recording of the song of the Sulawesi streaked flycatcher (Muscicapa sodhii).
Location: Sulawesi Tengah; Palolo District, Baku Bakulu, Indonesia.
Sound: Pamela C. Rasmussen / Bert Harris / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US. Image credit: Martin Lindop.
Article: http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-sulawesi-streaked-flycatcher-new-species-bird-indonesia-02295.html