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 Whether there was one extinct species of sandpiper occupying the Pacific islands of Tahiti and Moorea or whether there were, in fact, two remains something of an enigma. The naturalists who actually saw the birds in life and handled fresh specimens were convinced that there was only one, but more recent commentators have …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/charadriiformes-scolopacidae-ellis-sandpiper-prosobonia-ellisi
Jul 01 2011
The story The Wake Rail has acquired the grim celebrity of having been eaten out of existence by hungry Japanese soldiers during World War II. Unable to fly, these rails could scuttle about their island home quickly, but despite their agility any efforts to escape would have been no match for the concerted efforts of …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/gruiformes-rallidae-wake-rail-gallirallus-wakensis
Jul 01 2011
The story Only a very few specimens of this striking duck are in existence, and virtually nothing is known of it in life. Even the limits of its original range are a matter of speculation; there is an assumption that it bred in eastern Siberia and migrated to Korea and Japan, but this may be …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/anseriformes-anatidae-crested-shelduck-tadorna-cristata
Jul 01 2011
The story Three starlings of the genus Aplonis have vanished. The species from Kosrae Island, one of the Caroline group in the Pacific, is known from just a series of specimens collected by F. H. von Kittlitz in December 1827. Five skins exist today, three in St Petersburg and two in Leiden; there may be …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.planetofbirds.com/passeriformes-sturnidae-kosrae-starling-aplonis-corvina
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