New species of ‘bald’ bird discovered in Laos

31/07/2009 10:08:43 Bizarre bald bulbul bird discovered
July 2009. A previously unknown and very unusual songbird with a bald head has been discovered in a rugged region in Laos by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Melbourne.

Bare-faced bulbul - First new Asian bulbul for 100 years
Dubbed the "Bare-faced Bulbul" because of the lack of feathers on its face and part of its head, it is the only example of a bald songbird in mainland Asia according to scientists. It is the first new species of bulbul - a family of about 130 species - described in Asia in over 100 years.

The thrush-sized bird is greenish-olive with a light-coloured breast, a distinctive featherless, pink face with bluish skin around the eye extending to the bill and a narrow line of hair-like feathers down the centre of the crown. The bird seems to be primarily tree-dwelling and was found in an area of sparse forest on rugged limestone karsts - a little-visited habitat known for unusual wildlife discoveries.

"It's always exciting to discover a new species, but this one is especially unique because it is the only bald songbird in Asia," said Colin Poole, director of Asia programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society. "The discovery also underscores how much there is still to learn from wild places around the world."

"I am proud to report that news of this remarkable ornithological discovery, like that of the Calayan Rail in 2004, was made public through the pages of the Oriental Bird Club's scientific journal Forktail," commented Brian Sykes, Chairman of OBC.

"Its apparent restriction to rather inhospitable habitat helps to explain why such an extraordinary bird with conspicuous habits and a distinctive call has remained unnoticed for so long," said Iain Woxvold of the University of Melbourne.

Habitat is largely protected
Fortunately much of the bird's presumed habitat falls within legally protected areas in Laos. However, quarrying of limestone looms as a potential threat to wildlife in this area, along with habitat conversion for agriculture.

Other recent discoveries in the region
In 2002 in this same area, Rob Timmins of WCS described the kha-nyou, a newly discovered species of rodent so unusual it represented the lone surviving member of an otherwise extinct genus. Three years earlier he described a unique striped rabbit in the region also new to science.

The full paper describing the Bald-faced Bulbul: An unusual new bulbul (Passeriformes: Pycnonotidae) from the Limestone karst of Lao PDR by I. A. Woxvold, J. W. Duckworth and R. J. Timmins is available upon request.
A description of the new species is published in the July issue of the Oriental Bird Club's journal Forktail. Authors include Iain Woxvold of the University of Melbourne, along with Wildlife Conservation Society researchers Will Duckworth and Rob Timmins.

The discovery was part of a project funded and managed by the mining company MMG (Minerals and Metals Group) that operates the Sepon copper and gold project in the region