![]() “Bark-gleaning behaviour could be the reason behind the unusually long bill of this taxon: a longer bill could confer evolutionary benefits by permitting the bird to more easily extract prey from between fissures in tree bark,” the authors said in the report. The newly described bird’s bill, at 16 millimeters (about 5/8 of an inch), is “proportionately much longer” than other Phylloscopus leaf-warblers, the report noted. “Alarm bells went off when we realized how strikingly different the bill shape and the coloration of the Rote bird was compared to all other leaf-warblers,” Philippe Verbelen, one of the Belgian researchers, told Mongabay in an email. The following year, a team of researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) went to Rote to study the bird in much greater detail, including carrying out a genetic analysis. They returned in 2014 to conduct more fieldwork and compare the samples from Rote with the leaf-warblers in Timor. When a pair of Belgian ornithologists visited Rote in 2009 to carry out a survey on owls, they made very detailed observations and photographs of the unknown species. The first observation of a leaf-warbler of unknown identity on Rote in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, part of a chain that makes up the Lesser Sunda Islands, was carried out by the Australian ornithologist Colin Trainor in 2004.īut Trainor didn’t make detailed observations and had no photographs as he assumed that the songbird was the same species as the Timor leaf-warbler ( Phylloscopus presbytes), found on the nearby island of Timor, which is shared by Indonesia and Timor-Leste. The announcement of this newly-described songbird from Rote also followed the news of researchers describing the Rote honeyeater ( Myzomela irianawidodoae) in December 2017. The description of this species came after scientists identified the limestone leaf-warbler ( Phylloscopus calciatilis), in Vietnam’s karst mountains, in 2010. The discovery of Phylloscopus rotiensis, or the Rote leaf-warbler, named after the island on which it’s found, involved a series of separate field observations between 20 by different groups of researchers, according to a paper published Oct. But the species, confined to a single island in eastern Indonesia, is already thought to be endangered. JAKARTA - Less than a decade after the world was introduced to the latest species of Asian leaf-warblers, a new songbird of that group has now been described by scientists. Rote is home to a large number of species found only there or on neighboring islands, but lacks any major terrestrial protected area.The Rote leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus rotiensis) was initially assumed to be the same species as the Timor leaf-warbler from a neighboring island, but closer studies of its physical characteristics and genetic analyses have distinguished it as its own species.Researchers have described a new species of songbird found only on the Indonesian island of Rote - the second new avian discovery there in less than a year.We’re united in pursuing better protections and increased support for birds… and you can help. With our help, they can be restored as a vital part of the American landscape, and a precious part of our lives. It’s time to expand these conservation efforts to help the rest of our birds recover too. Thanks to strong conservation efforts and habitat management, many waterfowl and formally endangered species are now flourishing. NARRATOR: Our actions on behalf of birds make a positive difference and benefit the entire planet. This enormous loss of birds signals a broader crisis in the natural world one that ultimately affects us all. Climate change will compound all of these problems and accelerate the loss of habitats birds need. ![]() They face many other threats as well-from free-roaming cats and collisions with glass, to toxic pesticides and insect declines. NARRATOR: Birds are losing the habitats they need, places to live, find food, rest, and raise their young. Some of the hardest hit are familiar birds: orioles, meadowlarks, swallows, warblers. Vanished from our forests, grasslands, and backyards, in less than the span of a human lifetime. An alarming new study reveals that the population of North American birds has dropped nearly 30% since 1970. And make their homes in the most unexpected places. They fill the air with song, Inspire us with their beauty.
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