New bird Species in the 21st century

Newly discovered birds 2005

Sulphur-breasted Parakeet
Aratinga pintoi	NOT YET EVALUATED
Sulphur-breasted Parakeet is a fairly common bird of open areas on the northern bank of the lower Amazon river in the state of Pará. Specimens of the new species have been present in collections at least from the beginning of the 20th century. One of the reasons that it took so long to be recognized as a separate species is that the specimens were long considered to be juvenile Sun Parakeets or hybrids between Sun and Jandaya Parakeet. On the other hand, specimens of both Sun and Sulphur-breasted appeared to be scarce in collections. Interestingly, collections in North America and Europe hold mainly Sun Parakeets, whereas the Brazilian collections hold almost exclusively Sulphur-breasted Parakeets.
Most members of the Neotropical parakeet genus Aratinga have a predominantly green plumage. Parakeets of the Sun Parakeet A solstitialis species group, however, have bright yellow and orange colours on head and underparts. This group, also including Jandaya Parakeet A jandaya and Golden-capped Parakeet A auricapillus, occurs in dry areas in northern and central eastern South America. Sun Parakeet is known from a few localities in the Guyanas and in northern Brazil (states of Amazonas, Pará and Roraima). Comparison of specimens from Pará with birds from Roraima and the Guyanas showed considerable and consistent differences, and the Pará population has recently been described as a new species, Sulphur-breasted Parakeet Aratinga pintoi (Silveira, L F, de Lima, F C T & Höfling, E 2005. A new species of Aratinga parakeet (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) from Brazil, with taxonomic remarks on the Aratinga solstitialis complex. Auk 122: 292-305). It is named after Olivério Mário de Oliveiro Pinto (1896-1981), who was in fact the first ornithologist to notice differences between A pintoi and A solstitialis. Diagnostic features include green mottling on the yellow crown and nape (pure golden-yellow in solstitialis), the green mantle and upperwing-coverts with distinct yellow suffusion and mottling (pure yellow in solstitialis), and the predominantly yellow underparts with pale orange restricted to flanks and belly (deep orange from throat to belly in solstitialis). Silviera, L., V., F. C. T. de Lima, and E. Höfling (2005) A new species of Aratinga parakeet (Psittaciformes:Psittacidae) from Brazil, with taxonomic remarks on the Aratinga solstitialis complex The Auk 122:292-305
Upper Magdalena Tapaculo
Scytalopus rodriguezi	ENDANGERED
A typical Scytalopus tapaculo, predominantly slate-grey all over with some buff-brown barring on the belly. Similar spp lacks distinguishing plumage features. Best identified on voice. Voice the song is amongst the simplest of any Scytalopus, consisting of a single note repeated at a pace of 4-5 per second usually given in bouts of 2-5 phrases. Scytalopus rodriguezi was recently described from the head of the Magdalena Valley on the east slope of the Cordillera Central mountains of Colombia.
It is known from two locations, the Finca Merenberg Natural Reserve, San Agustín municipality, Huila department, and Serranía de las Minas, a ridge 15 km SSE of Finca Merenberg. It was hypothesised that the species may also occur on the East Andes side of the valley; this seems to be supported by the recent re-examination of a museum specimen collected at La Palma, Huila, which is consistent with rodriguezi based on plumage and biometrics1. The species's range is believed to be very small, with its stronghold centred on Serranía de las Minas. Much habitat at suitable elevations has already been cleared with an estimated 169 km2 remaining and deforestation continues, suggesting that the species may be declining rapidly. It inhabits dense understorey of primary humid forest at elevations of 2,000-2,300 m. It is frequently heard but rarely seen. Individuals move inconspicuously within 50 cm of or on the ground. It feeds on small insects. Deforestation is the principal threat to the species, at least in the short term. Selective logging, forest clearance to create pasture, and habitat degradation owing to trampling by free roaming livestock are the main drivers of its decline. Clearance in places of hundreds of mature oak and other hardwoods has drastically changed the forest physiognomy. Krabbe, N.; Salaman, P.; Cortés, A.; Quevedo, A.; Ortega, L.A. & Cadena, C.D. (2005) A new species of tapaculo from the upper Magdalena valley, Colombia Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 125:93-108
Stiles's Tapaculo
Scytalopus stilesi	LEAST CONCERN
Stiles's Tapaculo's song is considerably faster and lower-pitched than that of the closely related Ecuadorian Tapaculo S. robbinsi. Furthermore, it is genetically distinct and retains its integrity throughout a 300 km stretch of the Cordillera Central where it occupies montane forest between 1,420 and 2,130 m altitude. In this limited area it is a common understorey bird and is known from 21 localities, including several protected areas.
Stiles's Tapaculo is endemic to Colombia. It ranges in the northern half of the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes in the departments of Antioquia, Caldas and Risaralda, in cloud forests between 1420 and 2130 m above sea level. It was found at 21 sites on both slopes of the Cordillera Central. The song, calls and female song of the new species differ distinctly from those of all other known Scytalopus taxa. Phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of the cytochrome-b gene strongly suggest affinities with Ecuadorean Tapaculo S robbinsi of south-western Ecuador (first described in 1997) and with two as-yet-undescribed tapaculos from the Colombian Andes. Stiles's Tapaculo coexists locally with - but ecologically segregated - from Northern White-crowned S atratus, Blackish S latrans and Spillmann's Tapaculo S spillmanni. The mid-elevation premontane wet forests to which the new species is restricted have been subject to severe deforestation and fragmentation. The species is, however, relatively common in continuous mature-forest remnants, large primary-forest fragments, riparian forests and tall secondary-forest patches. The researchers employed a geographic information system (GIS) approach to model the potential distribution of the new species and assess its conservation status under the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Stiles's Tapaculo does not qualify as 'threatened' according to these criteria but it should be regarded as 'near-threatened'. The new species coexists with numerous threatened bird species that are in need of more effective conservation. Cuervo, Andrés M.; Cadena, Carlos Daniel; Krabbe, Niels & Renjifo, Luis Miguel (2005): Scytalopus stilesi, a new species of tapaculo (Rhinocryptidae) from the Cordillera Central of Colombia. Auk 122(2): 445-463. Download article
Iquitos Gnatcatcher
Polioptila clementsi	CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
A typical gnatcatcher. Largely pale grey with a thin black bill, black eye with a conspicuous broken white eyering, black legs and white corners to the tail.
Has a uniformly grey throat and chest, with a white belly, undertail coverts and undertail. Males lack any black on the head, shown in all other species bar one. Similar spp none within the range. Voice can be distinguished from other gnatcatchers by "inverted chevron-shaped" introductory notes to its song, followed by a series of evenly spaced notes delivered at a faster pace.
Polioptila clementsi has recently been described from the Reserva Nacional Allpahuayo-Mishana just west of Iquitos, Department of Loreto, Peru. Extensive surveys of available habitat within the reserve have only located 15 pairs. Since its discovery, the species has apparently become more difficult to locate year on year. It appears to be rare or uncommon within white-sand forest with a variable canopy height between 15 and 30 m. Consistently found in tall, humid varillal forest. Available habitat continues to be threatened by clearance for agriculture facilitated by government incentives to encourage colonization of land surrounding Iquitos; and illegal logging of forest within a national reserve, for construction, fuelwood and charcoal. Whitney, Bret M. & Alonso, José Alvarez (2005) A new species of Gnatcatcher from white-sand forests of northern Amazonian Peru, with revision of the Polioptila guianensis complex The Wilson Bulletin Vol. 117 No. 2 pp. 113-127
Naung Mung Scimitar-Babbler
Jabouilleia naungmungensis	NOT YET EVALUATED
This is a timaliid assignable to the genus Jabouilleia by combination of the following characters: long, decurved bill; long legs, toes, and nails; relatively short tail and wings; general body proportions; and coloration. Separable from the other member of the genus by the longer bill, tarsus, hallux, and hallux nail; single, thick, black malar stripe, rather than two thin dark stripes separated by a white stripe; absence of rufous breast band; brown rather than rusty sides and flanks.
Presumed distribution is limited to the premontane rainforest areas of northern Myanmar east of Putao. Similar habitats may extend westward into adjacent regions of Myanmar and Assam, India, and to the east into Yunnan Province of China, and perhaps even into northern Laos, but we have no data on this species from outside the immediate vicinity of Naung Mung. In fact, in February and March of 2001, we sampled extensively, using mist nets, at localities in the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan region of northern Myanmar north and east of Putao, including the Naung Mung area, accumulating 2,500 nethours at 28 sites representing all major primary and serai habitats at elevations ranging from 400 m to >3,000 m over a six-week period. One hundred and fifty-two individuals representing 76 species were captured, but no representatives of J. naungmungensis were found. Nevertheless, the fact that three birds were captured during nine days of netting (1,800 net-hours) would seem to indicate that, despite an apparently restricted distribution, the species is fairly common in temperate rainforest near Naung Mung. Discovery of a member of Jabouilleia at this locality is the first instance documenting a member of this genus in sympatry with the closely related genus Rimator.
Planalto Tapaculo
Scytalopus pachecoi	LEAST CONCERN
It is about 12 cm long and weighs around 15 grams. The upperparts are mainly dark grey, the underparts are paler grey. The flanks are buff with dark bars. Adult males of the Mouse-coloured Tapaculo are uniformly dark grey with no flank barring. The song contains a long series of notes uttered at a rate of two or three per second. This compares to five notes per second in the faster song of the Mouse-coloured Tapaculo.
The Planalto Tapaculo has a distinctive, monosyllabic contact call and a loud alarm call. It is known from southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina) and north-east Argentina (Misiones Province). It inhabits forest and forest edge where it is often found near streams and in undergrowth such as bamboo thickets. It has been found at higher densities in secondary forest rather than undisturbed forest. Scytalopus pachecoi occupies three separate areas in southern Brazil and adjacent north-eastern Argentina. It occurs in forest and forest edge habitats. Although having a relatively small and disjunct distribution it is not facing any risk of extinction, since it tolerates - and is apparently more numerous in - second-growth and disturbed forests, habitats still common within the regions where it occurs.