Published: 04th March 2021
What the FAQ: This bird wasn't spotted for 170 years. How does the black-browed babbler look like?
The bird was obtained last year by two local residents after being observed several times during their daily visits to the forest
For the first time in 170 years, researchers reported last week that a black-browed babbler has been found in Indonesia. It was spotted on October 5, 2020. Here's everything you need to about the black-browed babbler bird, its habitat and a lot more.
When was the black-browed babbler spotted last?
Ans: Between the years 1843 and 1848, a German naturalist by the name of Carl ALM Schwaner, while trekking through the dense equatorial forests of Indonesia's Borneo, came across a small brown-grey songbird with a distinctive broad, black eye-stripe running all the way around its head. For over 170 years after that reporting, this single specimen was said to be the only recorded sighting of this bird species — the species holotype is now at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands.
How does the bird look?
Ans: Experts from the region in Indonesia's Borneo confirmed the bird’s identity, considering its strong bill, chocolate colouring and distinctive black eye-stripe all around its head. Unlike the taxidermied specimen, the live bird’s iris was found to be a striking maroon colour. Experts are already filling in some blanks in regards to the appearance of the bird. For example, the 170-year-old type specimen has bright yellow glass eyes and legs that have faded to pale brown. Based on photos of the living bird, though, the researchers now know that the species has deep scarlet eyes and grey legs.
Which family does it belong to and what is its natural habitat?
Ans: The black-browed babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata) is a songbird species in the family Pellorneidae. The species is endemic to Borneo, Indonesia. Only a single specimen, collected in the nineteenth century was known until the bird was rediscovered in Indonesia during October 2020. The natural habitat of M perspicillata is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, at altitudes of 200–1,170 m (660–3,840 ft). The rediscovery of the bird, last year solidifies the belief that it is from SouthEast Borneo.
Will the bird go extinct?
Ans: Right now, nothing is known about the species’ population or whether it is currently threatened with extinction. However, Teguh Willy Nugroho, an ornithologist who works in Sebangau National Park in Kalimantan and co-authored a report published on February 25 in Birding ASIA about the rediscovery of the black-browed babbler, says he is fairly confident that the bird has a limited distribution in the area, and might face local threats such as poaching.