[gandytron]

Morning,

Just found this story on the front page of today's "Bangkok Post", this species is treated as data deficient by BirdLife, and is only known from one specimen...

May be white-eyed river martin will be next!??

Dave

'Extinct' bird found in Gulf of Thailand
APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

A bird presumed to have been extinct for well over 100 years has been rediscovered in a pristine coastal wetland in Petchaburi, on the Gulf of Thailand. The large-billed reed warbler (Acrocephalus orinus) had not been seen since 1867, when a single bird of the species was reported in the northwest of India, a prominent ornithologist said yesterday.

Philip Round, a lecturer from Mahidol University's department of biology, said his team spotted and trapped the bird on March 27 last year at the royally-initiated Laem Phak Bia Environment Research and Development Project in Petchaburi province.

It took about a year to confirm that the bird was the large-billed reed warbler.

''We collected two feathers from the bird for DNA tests and the result showed that it perfectly matched the DNA of the 139-year-old specimen kept at the British Museum,'' said Mr Round.

The large-billed reed warbler was found nesting in grass filter beds used for sewage treatment.

The bird is small, brown and mostly unmarked. It weighs 9.5 grammes, and is 18 centimetres in length. The bird was released unharmed after the ornithological team finished the examination.

''We never dreamed for a minute that we would rediscover a presumed-extinct species,'' said Mr Round, who has worked in bird conservation and research in Thailand for decades.

He called on the government to protect the ecological system of the inner Gulf, which is recognised as one of the world's most important bird habitats

[sclateria]

Thanks for sharing that Dave.

I assume this is the same sighting referred to in the latest volume of HBW?

[pianoman]

Link to the Guardian article:

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,2028374,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704

[steveo]

Check this out ,http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070307/...land_rare_bird.

[Colin]

Can't get the link to work but fascinating news.

[Jane Turner]

I wonder.... I have memories of a troublesome Acro ID thread - where the debate was "is this a Clamorous RW or Oriental RW" in some quarters, when others were saying..."but it looks like a small Acro"

[joannec]

I saw this in the news today.

Extinct' bird found in Thailand
AFP Wednesday March 7, 03:53 PM

BANGKOK (AFP) - A small wetland bird believed to have been extinct for more than 130 years has been found in a sewage treatment site in Thailand, an ornithologist said Wednesday.

Philip Round, manager of conservation projects at Mahidol University in Bangkok, said he stumbled across the large-billed reed warbler in March 2006 at the water treatment project in the province of Phetchaburi.

"I was really, really excited. I've known the existence of this bird for many years through reading and old references, but I've never, ever expected to find it here," the British researcher said.

The warbler, which was last seen in northwest India in 1867, was found in grass filter beds used for household sewage treatment on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.

"When I caught this bird, I knew that something was very different. Its appearance was different from any other Thai reed warblers," Round said, adding the bird stood out because of its long beak and short wings.

Weighing just 9.5 grammes (0.3 ounces), the 14-centimetre (5.5-inch) long male bird was believed to be about one year old. Round took a couple of its tail feathers and sent them to Sweden's Lund University for DNA tests.

Within hours, the tests confirmed the bird was the large-billed reed warbler. Round said the rediscovery of the rare bird after more than a century raised hopes among ornithologists.

"We thought it was probably extinct, but now we have proved that the bird still exists. I believe more researchers will be looking for them in India, Nepal and even Burma," he said, referring to Thailand's neighbour Myanmar.

Round said his findings would be published in the International Journal of Avian Biology.

[JTF]

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/189027

[Marianne Reid]

Isn't that wild!! I heard about it this morning from the CBC news! Hey, gives us hope for many other birds that are facing extinction, or, thought to be believed extinct

[AmpelisChinito]

Yeah! What do you say about that, Tom Nelson?

[Jane Turner]

I would imagine he would say that a small brown skulking Acro that no one has been looking for, with a plethora of confusion species that inhabits inpentrable swampland in low populated countries .... and a large noisy colourful woodpecker that allegedly inhabits the USA are really rather different.

[STS]

Good one Jane. Made me laugh out loud anyway.

[John Eaton]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

I would imagine he would say that a small brown skulking Acro that no one has been looking for, with a plethora of confusion species that inhabits inpentrable swampland in low populated countries .... and a large noisy colourful woodpecker that allegedly inhabits the USA are really rather different.

The difference being that Phil Round will have a pin sharp photograph

[pianoman]

All roads lead to Rome, and all Birdforum posts are about IBWO

[nickupton]

Phil Round does indeed have some photos of the bird A. orinus in his hand. He has kindly let me reproduce them here Large-billed Reed Warbler together with a short article I have written compiled from his paper which is published in this month's journal of avian biology, and from e-mail correspondance with him discussing the rediscovery.

[Larry Wheatland]

The Birdlife international link within Nickupton's link mentions recent discovery of a third individual ! As I understand it, re-examination of skins has revealed a bird killed in a different part of India to the first. Unfortunately no information on where, or at what time of year, in that link.

[glaciermint]

Originally Posted by Larry Wheatland

The Birdlife international link within Nickupton's link mentions recent discovery of a third individual ! As I understand it, re-examination of skins has revealed a bird killed in a different part of India to the first. Unfortunately no information on where, or at what time of year, in that link.

This will be the LBJ that has been skulking around in Hertfordshire for some time posing as a Blyth's Reed Warbler (now identified by DNA)

Link: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/large-b...d-warbler.html

[Frenchy]

Wasn't it Phil Round who rediscovered Gurney's Pitta in a Thai market?

Probably worth sticking close by him if you want to be in on the rediscovery of White-eyed River Martin!