New Species (2 Viewers)

[Professor_Gobbles]

I read online that it's estimated that there are around 20,000 bird species, even though there's only around 10,000 species recorded. Does anyone know where these birds may be hiding? I would guess somewhere in South America/New Guinea but even then I would have thought we would have found most of them by now. Thoughts?

 

[Larry Sweetland]

I read online that it's estimated that there are around 20,000 bird species, even though there's only around 10,000 species recorded. Does anyone know where these birds may be hiding? I would guess somewhere in South America/New Guinea but even then I would have thought we would have found most of them by now. Thoughts?

The estimate is almost certainly based on how many forms currently classified as subspecies will soon be classified as species. No need to find any new ones (though there may well be a few more out there to be found). And I don't know where you read that number, but my guess is that 20,000 is a bit high. But who knows what the number wil eventually be, if it's ever finally decided upon, and I very much doubt it ever will be.

 

[Mono]

The 20,000 figure comes from this paper...

How Many Kinds of Birds Are There and Why Does It Matter?

Estimates of global species diversity have varied widely, primarily based on variation in the numbers derived from different inventory methods of arthropods and other small invertebrates. Within vertebrates, current diversity metrics for fishes, amphibians, and reptiles are known to be poor...

journals.plos.org

It doesn't involve finding any new birds it is a redefining of the concept of species.