Cryptomundo » Bird Extinct 139 Years Rediscovered

Bird Extinct 139 Years Rediscovered

Posted by: Loren Coleman on March 7th, 2007

This old public domain painting is of Acrocephalus palustris, a species related to Acrocephalus orinus just rediscovered.

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. - Bangkok Post, March 7, 2007.

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. We never dreamed for a minute that we would rediscover a presumed-extinct species. - Philip RoundDepartment of Biology, Mahidol University, Thailand

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 7th, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Breaking News, CryptoZoo News, Cryptozoology, Evidence, Extinct, Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. You can follow responses via our RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

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13 Responses to “Bird Extinct 139 Years Rediscovered”

Darkstream responds: March 7th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Let’s hear it for field research! This is turning out to be the year of the rediscovered species.
captiannemo responds: March 7th, 2007 at 3:30 am
bring back the mammoth!
DNA is GREAT!
DWA responds: March 7th, 2007 at 8:49 am
You know, that mammoth project sure does seem to be stalled, don’t it? Unlike, say, tyrannosaurus rex, you have the habitat, plus the animal won’t “solve” your overpopulation problem!

And of course then you’d have to bring back the sabertooth…;-)

That said.

This may be an eeny little bird…but it’s in a very densely populated part of the world. In terms of scale, this is a Thai sasquatch. Bigger, in fact, as there apparently haven’t even been many (if ANY) sightings since extinction was declared.
YourPTR! responds: March 7th, 2007 at 9:16 am
When I saw the headline I was hoping it was going to be the Moa or Haast’s Eagle that was rediscovered. This is still a fantastic rediscovery though, what a beautiful bird it is and it certainly gives hope that other presumed long lost species might still be “lurking” out there!
mystery_man responds: March 7th, 2007 at 11:49 am
See, they had a holotype to match it against. Very, very important everyone! Seriously, it is very uplifting to me that in this day and age, with all the environmental problems and conservation problems occuring, we can still be making so many new discoveries and rediscoveries. Of course it could just be this bird’s last bastion is being infringed upon, but I’m trying to be positive. It really just gives me hope that it is not too late to turn things around.
vaughan responds: March 7th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
This is a great news for birders everywhere.

Acrocpehalus orinus appears to be a ’DNA split’ from Clamorous Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus). Use this Google image link to see the latter species that looks more or less ’exactly’ the same as the one rediscovered.

NB Phil Round has played a huge part in our understanding of birdlife in Thailand and thereabouts, and very much deserves to be involved in this rediscovery. Congratulations.
Remus responds: March 7th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
“there apparently haven’t even been many (if ANY) sightings since extinction was declared”

I’ll bet there have been many sightings. Just not by informed orithologists. It is a fairly common looking bird.
RockerEm responds: March 7th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
YAY! Rediscoveries are just so uplifting. Imagine the species out there that are thought to be extinct that in the end are not!
Bob K. responds: March 8th, 2007 at 2:21 am
What I would love to see, along a similar vein, is the re-discovery/re-confirmation of the Washington Eagle. What a majestic bird that must be.
YourPTR! responds: March 8th, 2007 at 10:33 am
I hope there will be a similar rediscovery of the Passenger Pigeon next.
DWA responds: March 8th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Remus: common looking it may be.

But extinction tends to focus people. And densely populated areas tend to foster lots of people who know what looks normal around there and what looks out of place.

I saw my first winter wren the other weekend. A more nondescript looking LBB (birderese for “little brown bird”) one cannot imagine. At one time in my life I wouldn’t even have noticed it. On this day it was as arresting as a klieg light coming on in my eyes on a pitch-black night. (And I still don’t consider myself a birder of particular proficiency.)

Nothing that’s been declared extinct is that common looking.
YourPTR! responds: March 8th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Seeing as this subspecies is practically identical in appearance to its related species, any sightings over the last 139 years were probably put down as being the much more common similar species.
Terry W. Colvin responds: July 29th, 2007 at 8:24 am
I’m unable to access the article from The Bangkok Post.

Please note that my wife, Ruk-Long, and I will be retiring to Thailand by next summer. Our house now building in Pran Buri is near the town of Hua Hin (Stone Head) and the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park. I quote from a 2001 edition of Lonely Planet, p. 391:

“Fauna - Notable wildlife around Khao Sam Roi Yot includes crab-eating macaque, dusky langur (the park is considered one of the best spots in the world for viewing dusky langurs), barking deer, slow loris, Malayan pangolin, fishing cat, palm civet, otter, serow, Javian mongoose and monitor lizard.

“Because the park lies at the intersection of the East Asian and Australian fly ways, as many as 300 migratory and resident bird species have been recorded, including yellow bittern, cinnamon bittern, purple swamp hen, water rail, ruddy-breasted crake, bronze-winged jacana, grey heron, painted stork, whistling duck, spotted eagle and black-headed ibis. THE PARK PROTECTS THAILAND’S LARGEST FRESHWATER MARSH (along with mangroves and mudflats), and is one of only three places in the country where the purple heron breeds.

“Waterfowl are most commonly seen in the cool season. Encroachment by shrimp farmers in the vicinity has sadly destroyed substantial portions of mangroves and other wetlands, thus depriving the birds of an important habitat.”

This swamp is probably too small to harbor much unknown wildlife but one never knows. I will do what I can to collect tidbits of information.

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