Bird enthusiasts are elated after experts discovered a species that had been thought to be extinct for 24 years.
The dusky tetraka is a Madagascar-native songbird with a recognisable golden throat.
In an unusual habitat, three of them have been seen in a rainforest in the island’s northeast.
John Mittermeier, an ornithologist, who was successful in taking a photo of the rare bird said, “If dusky tetraka always prefer areas close to rivers, this might help to explain why the species has been overlooked for so long.”
He is the head of the American Bird Conservancy’s lost birds programme, which was in charge of this most recent expedition to Madagascar.
The low-flying birds were in dense vegetation close to a rocky river, which may have been an excellent location for grubs and insects.
The dusky tetraka was discovered just over a year after it was listed as one of the top 10 most-wanted birds on the “Search for Lost Birds” list, which was put together by BirdLife International, American Bird Conservancy, and Re:wild with data support from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and its eBird platform.
The dusky tetraka’s natural habitat has been reduced due to the conversion of much of the forest into farms that grow vanilla, despite the fact that the birds’ rainforest home is legally protected.
