2016-08-10

Photo: Shown is a young male Galápagos vermilion flycatcher on Isabela Island.

It is not extinct, unlike its close relative, the San Cristóbal Island vermilion flycatcher. Credit: Jack Dumbacher and the California Academy of Sciences

Researchers have recommended a taxonomic upgrade to full species status for a subspecies of songbird found only on San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos

. But there's some fine print involved: The bird hasn't been seen since 1987 and it may no longer exist.

The bird, the San Cristóbal Island vermilion flycatcher, is one of two Galápagos subspecies of vermilion flycatcher that a research team has determined should be species all their own. (The other is the more common, and still among us, Galápagos vermilion flycatcher:

Pyrocephalus nanus

.)

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The researchers -- hailing from the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), San Francisco State University, the University of New Mexico, and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) -- used DNA analysis of a century's-worth of Galápagos bird specimens at the CAS to determine that both birds were genetically distinct enough to be new species.

But it's the San Cristóbal songbird (

Pyrocephalus dubius

) that is garnering all of the attention.

"A species of bird that may be extinct in the Galápagos is a big deal," said Jack Dumbacher, co-author of a

study

on the birds and CAS curator, in a statement.

"This marks an important landmark for conservation in the Galápagos, and a call to arms to understand why these birds have declined," he added.

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Twelve subspecies of vermilion flycatcher range widely throughout the Americas and, of course, the Galápagos. The small, stout songbirds (here's what one

sounds like

singing) are a showy exception to the usually dull colors of other flycatchers. They

feed

largely on insects such as flies, wasps and beetles.

The missing San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher

has only been known to exist on its island namesake. If it

is

indeed extinct, the reasons for its disappearance aren't yet known, though rats and flies are potential culprits, say the scientists. Rats will climb trees to eat bird eggs, and flies can kill new chicks. Both pests are doing serious damage to the remaining vermilion flycatcher populations on the Galápagos islands.

"Sadly, we appear to have lost the San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher," said Dumbacher, even as study co-author Alvaro Jaramillo, SFBBO biologist, allowed a bit of eternal hope to spring: "At the very least," said Jaramillo, "this discovery should motivate people to survey and see if there are any remaining individuals of the species hanging on that we don't know about."

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See this bird? Hard not to, right? It's

caused quite a stir

in a Brooklyn neighborhood this week. It's a male painted bunting, a showy finch that's not usually seen in the area. He's drawn crowds of onlookers -- both dedicated and casual birders alike. If he knows he's been trending on Facebook lately, he chooses to pretend he doesn't.

In this bright bird's honor, we thought we'd celebrate a few other fliers with flashy feathers. Enjoy!

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Check out this king vulture. The fleshy orange lump on its beak is called a caruncle. Its function is, as in so many other features in nature, a purely ornamental way to attract the ladies. It would make a good guest host on The Muppets.

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This male Mandarin duck is also looking full to bursting with color. Native to East Asia, this one's a female, evident from the white tip on the end of her otherwise red bill.

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Kingfishers can bring the flash, too. Neat fact: Kingfishers nest in cavities, often holes underground. Some kingfishers nest in vacated termite nests.

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The keel-billed toucan can reach nearly 2 feet long, including its bill, and weigh around 1 pound. The tree-perching experts have feet with toes that point in different directions - the better to cling with. Its bill is just hollow bone and not at all as big of a pain as it looks like for them to carry around.

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Here's another striking bird,the common green magpie, and there's nothing common about its plumage.

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How could we not include a peacock, if we're interested in displaying dazzling bird colors?

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Make way for a blue-and-yellow macaw! The parrot makes its home in forests and woods in tropical South America. It can talk, it gets along well with humans, and it can reach nearly 3 feet long and weigh up to 3 pounds.

There's not a lot of variation in the coloring of blue-and-yellow macaws. They're pretty much, well, blue and yellow. But even with standard-issue colors they're stunning all the same.

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The only thing better than one parrot is a collection of four, gathering to compare plumage, trade stock tips, and catch up on each other's weekends.

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Can you guess what this bird is called? If you said "hey, DNews, it's a red crested turaco," you'd be right! Did you also know it's the national bird of Angola? It sounds a bit like a monkey when it makes its calls in the jungle, and it's red crest is such a dazzler that this ginger-topped bird has it in its name.

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