Bangkok - A wetland bird that was last spotted in India in
1867 and presumed to be extinct has been rediscovered in Thailand,
media reports said on Wednesday.
A team of ornithologists trapped a large-billed reed warbler
(Acroce phalus orinus) on March 27, last year, in a pristine coastal
wetland in Petchaburi province but only announced their 'rediscovery'
of the lost species on Tuesday in Bangkok.
Birdlife International announced the discovery Wednesday on its
website.
Philip Round, a lecturer form Thailand's Mahidol University, said
it took a year to confirm that the bird was indeed a large-billed
reed warbler, the last specimen of which was collected 140 years ago
in north-west India and stored at the Natural History Museum in
London.
DNA tests confirmed that the specimen found in Thailand matched
that of the specimen kept at the London museum, Round said.
The rediscovery has revived regional interest in the large-billed
reed warbler, which has long been a mystery bird for ornithologists.
This remarkable discovery gives Indian ornithologists an added
incentive to continue our search for the large-billed reed warbler in
India,' said Dr Asad Rahmani, Director of the Bombay Natural History
Society in a statement on the website of Birdlife International.
BirdLife International's Stuart Butchart, added, 'Almost nothing
is known about this mysterious bird. The Indian specimen has short,
round wings and we speculated it is resident or short-distance
migrant, so its appearance in Thailand is very surprising. A priority
now is to find out where the large-billed reed warbler's main
population lives, whether it is threatened, and if so, how these
threats can be addressed.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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