Groups find colorful bird in Colombia

[tocqueville]

By LAUREN DAKE, Associated Press Writer
31 minutes ago

BOGOTA, Colombia - A colorful bird new to science has been discovered in a remote Andean cloud forest, spurring efforts to protect the area, conservation groups have announced.



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 and which committed mass suicide instead of submitting to Spanish colonial rule.

The discovery, published in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, comes at a crucial time for conservationists. Thanks in part to the discovery, the government has decided to set aside 500 acres of the pristine cloud forest where it lives to create a national park.

Yves De Soye, of U.K.-based Birdlife International, a conservation group, said "such discoveries are very important calling attention to unprotected, vulnerable areas."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061009/ap_on_sc/colombia_bird_discovery_2

[semillama]

1. wow!

what a gorgeous bird! Stunning!