Oct 28 2014
An interesting writing by Rajiv Kalsi, Rahul Kaul and S Sathyakumar. It was published as part of the ongoing study of Pheasants and allies in India. In my opinion the most complete paper-based search review for the elusive Himalayan Quail. I asked for permission by mail to publish on PoB, but have yet to receive …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/the-himalayan-quail-ophrysia-superciliosa-extinct-or-evasive
Aug 04 2014
This species is endemic to the tiny, fragmented forests of the Taita Hills, where it occurs in only four remnant patches, totalling less than 150 ha in area, on a single massif. It is also found in a larger patch of lesser disturbed forest on the adjacent massif of Mbololo. The Taita Hills are a …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/rarest-birds-in-the-world-taita-apalis-apalis-fuscigularis
Aug 03 2014
Bourns and Worcester in 1894 wrote the following account: We were so fortunate as to secure aseries of fourteen specimens of this rare horn-bill from Sulu and Tawi Tawi. The tail is pure white. All other parts black, the feathers of back and wings glossed with dark green. The bill in abult birds is coal …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/rarest-birds-in-the-world-sulu-hornbill-anthracoceros-montani
Aug 03 2014
Comments on the Glaucous Macaw were first published by Sanchez Labrador (1767) who wrote that the Guaa’-obi lived along the banks of the Uruguay River, and to a lesser extent, in the forest near the Paraguay River. The species was first described by Vieillot in 1816, as Anodorhynchus glaucus, based on the observations of Azara …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/rarest-birds-in-the-world-glaucous-macaw-anodorynchus-glaucus
May 22 2013
The great auk, now almost forgotten in the world by all except the ornithologists, is still remembered among the Penobscot as one of the legendary bird chiefs. While we may hesitate a moment in believing the strict identity of this now-extinct bird with the hero character in one of the creation tales, it nevertheless seems …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/the-great-auk-in-penobscot-folklore
Mar 03 2012
Story After 35 years, a giant fossil penguin has finally been completely reconstructed, giving researchers new insights into prehistoric penguin diversity. The bones were collected in 1977 by Dr. Ewan Fordyce, a paleontologist from the University of Otago, New Zealand. In 2009 and 2011, Dr. Dan Ksepka, North Carolina State University research assistant professor of …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/scientists-get-first-full-look-at-prehistoric-new-zealand-penguin-the-largest-ever
Jul 01 2011
The story The Greater Amakihi, a rather non-descript little honeycreeper coloured olive green, was discovered by the world of ornithology during 1892 when Rothschild’s collector Henry Palmer took four specimens. In December 1895 a few individuals were collected, and the species was located again during 1900. The following year it was found once more, since …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/passeriformes-drepanididae-greater-amakihi-hemignathus-sagittirostris
Jul 01 2011
The story This species is known from bones discovered on Rodrigues during the 1870’s and described by Alphonse Milne-Edwards, the celebrated expert on fossil birds at the Paris museum. Milne-Edwards described the species primarily on the evidence of a sternum, and chose to assign it to the genus Columba, whereas later researchers have shown an …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/columbiformes-columbidae-rodrigues-pigeon-alectroenas-rodericana
Jul 01 2011
The story The Hawaii Mamo suffered in the same way and for the same reason as the Hawaii ‘O’o. The rich yellow feathers of the uppertail- and undertail-coverts attracted the attention of the kings and princes of Hawaii, and these feathers were used in the making of ceremonial cloaks and other artifacts. The most famous …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/passeriformes-drepanididae-hawaii-mamo-drepanis-pacifica
Jul 01 2011
The story The Tahitian Red-billed or Tahiti Rail is known only from a painting that survives today in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. This painting was produced by Georg Forster, one of the naturalists who sailed with Captain James Cook on his second epic voyage around the world during the 1770’s. Forster’s …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/gruiformes-rallidae-tahiti-rail-gallirallus-pacificus
