Researchers were surprised by the rediscovery of a mysterious thrush unique to Indonesia, the black-browed thrush, after more than 170 years, as they had long thought the bird was extinct.
Indonesia's endemic thrush, the Black-browed Thrush, has long been considered extinct, and was last seen in the rainforests of Borneo, Indonesia, more than 170 years ago. Now the bird has been spotted again, surprising the researchers.
According to a report published by the World Wildlife Conservation Association, in the 1840s, a group of explorers discovered a mysterious bird in the East Indies, which was recorded by Napoleon's nephew and ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte and named the black-browed crane, but since then all attempts to find the black-browed crane have failed, and there is only one specimen found in 1848.
Last October, two men in South Kalimantan province in Indonesian Borneo discovered an unseen bird about the size of a palm with brown and gray feathers. They captured it, took pictures of it, released it into the forest, and the two later informed the bird watching group.
Local bird experts confirmed that it was a black-browed crane based on the bird's size, strong beak, brown feathers and distinctive black stripes across the eyes.
The findings, published February 24 in the journal Birding Asia Birdwatching, lead author Ekbar wrote: "This bird is often regarded as 'the biggest mystery of Indonesian ornithology,' and it is incredible to find that it is not extinct but still lives well in these lowland rainforests." ”
Experts say that, unlike the specimen, the iris of this live bird is a striking chestnut color. But scientists aren't surprised by the difference, as these parts often lose their original color and are artificially colored during taxidermy stripping.
Little is known about the thrush because the black-browed bird has been "missing" longer than any other Asian bird. The researchers now plan to return to the site where the bird was recently found for further investigation.
According to conservationists, more than 150 species of birds around the world have been undetected in the past 10 years and are therefore considered "extinct".
Barney Lang, Senior Director of Species Conservation at the World Wildlife Conservation Council, said: "This discovery is astounding and gives us great hope that we may find other species that scientists have not been able to find for decades or more. ”