Our World

New species found in Andean range

A multicolored bird with reddish-brown and black eyes has been discovered as a new species in a Colombian cloud forest accessible only by helicopter, scientists say. The "fist-sized yellow" and black Yariguies Brush-Finch, "topped with an orange plume" as found by a Colombian-English ProAves Foundation team high on the country's eastern Andean range in Santander province. The bird was named after an indian tribe that once lived in the natural preserve where it was found. Colombia, one of the most "ecologically diverse" countries in the world, has about 1,800 species of bird. "The description of a new bird is a rare event," said expedition member Blanca Huertas of The Natural History Museum in London. "However, this is just the first of several new species that we will be describing from the Yariguies mountains, including several new butterflies."

posted by Anonymous @ 10/13/2006 10:10:00 PM