New bird species discovered in Colombia
mongabay.com
October 5, 2006
A bird species new to science has been discovered on a remote mountain range in northern Colombia according to Conservation International.
The Yariguies Brush-Finch (Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum), a large and colorful finch with black, yellow and red plumage, is described in the June issue of the scientific journal Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club. According to a news release from Conservation International, “the bird is named for the Yariguies indigenous people who formerly inhabited the mountain range where the bird was found.”
“The description of a new bird is a rare event in modern times,” said Blanca Huertas of Natural History Museum and University College London. “However, this is just the first of several new species that we will be describing from the Yariguíes Mountains. In my own specialist group, butterflies, we have found several new taxa that will be described soon.”
The bird was discovered during an expedition supported by the BP Conservation Programme, a partnership between BP, BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora International, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Following the discovery of the species and other results from biological surveys in the region, Serranía de los Yariguíes was declared a national park last year by the Colombian government.
This article used information from a Conservation International press release.
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