New bird found on unexplored mountain
A new bird species has been discovered on an unexplored mountain range in northern Colombia.
The bird was discovered this year by a scientific team supported by the BP Conservation Program and was named "Yariguies Brush-Finch," with the scientific name Atlapetes latinuchus yariguierum.
The new brush-finch was described by an Anglo-Colombian team of biologists during the first biological exploration of the Yariguíes Mountains. It was named for the Yariguies indigenous people who formerly inhabited the mountain range where the large and colorful finch with black, yellow and red plumage was found.
Researchers say the species differs from its closest relatives in having a black back and no white markings on its wings. It also is found in nearby mountains in Colombia's eastern Andean range. Genetic, morphological and vocal studies have confirmed its identity as a new taxon.
The description was published in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International