Global News - March 2008

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New bird found in Indonesia

Tue 18 March 2008 13:45 UK — Asia,Birds

Scientists have discovered a new bird on the Togian Islands of Indonesia.

Ornithologists reported in the March edition of The Wilson Journal of Ornithology that they had found the bird, which has been named the Zosterops somadikartai, or Togian white-eye, after over a decade of searching.

Mochaamad Indrawan, an Indonesian field biologist, first saw the bird 12 years ago during a trip to the Togian Islands.

Since then, he has returned several times and fleetingly saw the bird. Now, enough evidence about the Togian white-eye has been gathered to make a formal description.

"What this discovery highlights is that in some parts of the world there are still virtually unexplored islands where few ornithologists have worked," explained Pamela Rasmussen, an internationally known ornithologist specialising in Asian birds.

"The world still holds avian surprises for us."

However, experts warned that it was likely that the newly discovered bird was already endangered.

Mochaamad Indrawan added that it was possible that more new species would be found as scientists focus on Indonesia's remote areas.

"This finding of the bird is only the beginning given the vast opportunities with Indonesian landscapes and seascapes of endemic flora and fauna."

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