BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, March 5, 2021 (ENS) – Muhammad Suranto and Muhammad Rizky Fauzan, who both live in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province, were gathering forest products in an area near their homes when they stumbled upon an unfamiliar bird species. They caught and released the bird after taking some photographs.
The friends contacted Indonesian birdwatching groups BW Galeatus and Birdpacker, who suspected the bird might be the Black-browed Babbler,
Malacocincla perspicillata, believed to be extinct for more than 170 years. After consultations with expert ornithologists from Indonesia and around the region, their hunch was confirmed.
Black-browed babbler, 2020, South Kalimantan, Indonesia (Photo by Muhammad Rizky Fauzan courtesy Oriental Bird Club)
– Borneo Rainforest Shelters Bird Lost 172 Years Ago ens-newswire.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ens-newswire.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Mystery bird not seen in 172 years makes surprise reappearance in Borneo forest
The black-browed babbler was recently sighted in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province, on the island of Borneo, after being lost to science for 172 years.
There is only one specimen of the species, collected sometime between 1843 and 1848.
While little is known about the species, researchers are concerned that it might already be threatened with extinction.
Three years ago, Panji Gusti Akbar was flipping through the pages of
Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago when he came across a photo of a bird with brown wings and a black stripe across its brow, appropriately named the black-browed babbler (
Bird species re-discovered after almost 200 years of absence
Tastefully late.
It’s a good day to like birds, as locals in Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, have rediscovered a bird thought to be extinct for almost two centuries.
Image credits Birdpacker.
The bird in question is the black-browed babbler, and we’ve only ever had sparse information on it. The western world was first treated to specimens and a description of this bird around 1848. Attempts to find the birds since have all failed, leaving us with very little data about the species’ traits including ecology, population, and behavior.
Needless to say, we assumed it went extinct. But we were wrong!
FOUND: Locals and Scientists Rediscover the Black-browed Babbler in Borneo After 172 Years asiaresearchnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from asiaresearchnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.