Winged beauty
PHOTO: REUTERS
BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL: In the Andean cloud forest.
A colourful new bird has been discovered in a previously unexplored Andean cloud forest, spurring efforts to protect the area. The bright yellow and red-crowned Yariguies brush-finch was named for the indigenous tribe that once inhabited the mountainous area where it was discovered.
For conservationists, the discovery of the species came at a crucial time — the Government has decided to set aside 500 acres of the pristine cloud forest where the bird lives to create a national park.
"The bird was discovered in what is the last remnants of cloud forest in that region," Camila Gomez, of the Colombia conservation group ProAves, said. "There are still lots of undiscovered flora and fauna species that live in the area."
The new finch, the size of a fist, is native to Colombia's eastern Andean range and considered by its discoverers to be near threatened and in need of close monitoring to prevent it from becoming endangered. The small bird can be distinguished from its closest relative — the yellow-breasted brush finch — by its solid black back and the lack of white marks on its wings.
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