A new bird species has been confirmed after it was first spotted 15 years ago on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
The new species, dubbed the Sulawesi streaked flycatcher (Muscicapa sodhii), is characterized by its mottled throat and short wings, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs reported. The bird has survived in a region that has been degraded by cacao plantations, so it is not believed to be at risk of extinction.
"Considering that 98 percent of the world's birds have been described, finding a new species is quite rare," said co-author J. Berton C. Harris, a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton's Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy, which is based at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "And despite being a globally important avian hotspot, Sulawesi has largely gone unstudied by ornithologists."
A full examination of the bird's "measurements, genetics, plumage and sound" revealed it had features that set it apart from other flycatchers in the region. A DNA analysis revealed that it is distantly related to the gray-streaked flycatcher, and more closely resembles the Thailand population such as the Asian brown flycatcher.
The species has a distinct song that is slightly higher pitched than the whistles and chirps made by other flycatchers.
"The discovery of this previously unknown bird demonstrates once again how much we have yet to learn about the biodiversity of this planet and, especially, the biodiversity of the tropics," said Princeton Professor David Wilcove. "Birds may well be the most intensively studied class of vertebrates on Earth -- with millions of birdwatchers looking for them -- yet scientists are still discovering new species."
The latin name the team gave the bird is an homage to the late ecologist and ornithologist Navjot Sodhi, who was Harris' former mentor.
"The naming of so many species in honor of Sodhi shows how important he was to his students and collaborators," Harris said. "He probably would have been particularly pleased with our bird description, though, because he was an ornithologist, and so few bird species remain to be described."
The bird was described in a recent edition of the journal PLOS ONE.
