Newly discovered hummingbird species (Colombia)

[vireo]

The flamboyantly coloured Gorgeted Puffleg Eriocnemis isabellae, a new species of hummingbird, has been discovered in Colombia. But there are concerns over its future safety because the Serrania del Pinche mountains where it was discovered are unprotected.

Ornithologists Alexander Cortés-Diago and Luis Alfonso Ortega made three sightings of the new hummingbird during surveys in 2005 of montane cloud forest in the Serrania del Pinche, south-west Colombia.

“We were essentially following a hunch,” said Alexander Cortés-Diago of The Hummingbird Conservancy (Colombia) and co-discoverer of Gorgeted Puffleg. “We had heard that a new species of plant had been discovered in the region in 1994. This discovery and the isolation of the Serrania led us to believe there could also be new species of vertebrates.”

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“This is a discovery with mixed emotions: the indescribable happiness of finding a new hummingbird and the harsh reality that this may be one of the most endangered species outside of an unprotected area.” said Luis Alfonso Ortega of Fundación Ecohabitat, co-discoverer of the hummingbird.

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2007/05/colombia_new_hummingbird_discovery