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New bird species discovered in Danum Valley

Source: STAR 15th Jan 2010

PETALING JAYA: A new species of flowerpecker, a tiny lowland bird, has been discovered in Danum Valley, Sabah – a fitting gift to Malaysia as it ushers in the International Year of Biodiversity.

Named the Spectacled flowerpecker for the white, broken ring around its eyes, the bird has yet to be described scientifically.

The discovery was made by bird guide Richard Webster last June 18 while birdwatching on the 35m above-ground canopy walkway of the Borneo Rainforest Lodge.

A media release by the University of Leeds said after Webster consulted with Dr David Edwards, a fellow at the university’s Faculty of Biological Science who has been conducting ornithological studies in the region for three years, he realised that he had stumbled upon a species new to science.

Further observations over the following days by Webster, Dr Edwards and Rose Ann Rowlett, another tour guide, found at least two of the unknown birds feeding on a fruiting mistletoe, a parasitic plant growing on the tualang tree. They even heard one of the birds singing.

Photographs by Webster show an attractive grey bird with bright white arcs above and below the eye, a white throat extending as a broad white stripe down the centre of the belly and white tufts at the breast sides.

Comparison of these photographs with specimens of roughly 45 species of flowerpeckers under the Dicaeidae family in the British Natural History Museum, the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, United States, and extensive literature checks convinced Dr Edwards that the species was never before recorded from Borneo or anywhere else in the world.

“The realisation that in all probability we had been watching a species unknown to science was an incredible feeling. We were elated because we were on the verge of an amazing discovery but it was mixed with trepidation in case it is never seen again,” said Dr Edwards.

The avian discovery is detailed in an article in the latest issue of the Oriental Bird Club magazine, BirdingASIA, which was released yesterday.