Rare bird's breeding area found in Afghanistan
Source: Agencies |
January 19, 2010, Tuesday
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The first known breeding area of one of the world's rarest birds has been found in the remote and rugged Pamir Mountains in war-torn Afghanistan, a United States-based conservation group said yesterday.
A researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society stumbled upon the small, olive-brown large-billed reed warbler in 2008 and taped its distinctive song - a recording experts now say is probably the first ever. He and colleagues later caught and released 20 of the birds, the largest number ever recorded, the group says.
At the time, however, Robert Timmins, who was conducting a survey of bird communities along the Wakhan and Pamir rivers, thought he was observing a more common warbler species.
But after a visit to a Natural History Museum in Tring in England to examine bird skins, Timmins realized he had something else on his hands.
"Practically nothing is known about this species, so this discovery of the breeding area represents a flood of new information on the large-billed reed warbler," said Colin Poole, executive director of group's Asia Program. "This new knowledge of the bird also indicates that the Wakhan Corridor still holds biological secrets and is critically important for future conservation efforts in Afghanistan."
Researchers returned to the site of Timmins' first survey in 2009. They broadcast the recording of the song, which brought in large-billed reed warblers from all directions, allowing the team to catch 20 for examination and to collect feathers for DNA.
Lab work comparing museum specimens with measurements, field images, and DNA confirmed the find: the first-known breeding population of large-billed reed warblers.
British-based Birdlife International in 2007 called it one of the world's rarest birds. The first specimen was discovered in India in 1867, with more than a century elapsing before a single bird was found in Thailand in 2006.
A researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society stumbled upon the small, olive-brown large-billed reed warbler in 2008 and taped its distinctive song - a recording experts now say is probably the first ever. He and colleagues later caught and released 20 of the birds, the largest number ever recorded, the group says.
At the time, however, Robert Timmins, who was conducting a survey of bird communities along the Wakhan and Pamir rivers, thought he was observing a more common warbler species.
But after a visit to a Natural History Museum in Tring in England to examine bird skins, Timmins realized he had something else on his hands.
"Practically nothing is known about this species, so this discovery of the breeding area represents a flood of new information on the large-billed reed warbler," said Colin Poole, executive director of group's Asia Program. "This new knowledge of the bird also indicates that the Wakhan Corridor still holds biological secrets and is critically important for future conservation efforts in Afghanistan."
Researchers returned to the site of Timmins' first survey in 2009. They broadcast the recording of the song, which brought in large-billed reed warblers from all directions, allowing the team to catch 20 for examination and to collect feathers for DNA.
Lab work comparing museum specimens with measurements, field images, and DNA confirmed the find: the first-known breeding population of large-billed reed warblers.
British-based Birdlife International in 2007 called it one of the world's rarest birds. The first specimen was discovered in India in 1867, with more than a century elapsing before a single bird was found in Thailand in 2006.
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