Bald-Headed Bulbul Discovery News Video July 29, 2009 -- A
bald-headed songbird with a pink, nearly featherless face
and distinctive calls has just been found in a rugged region
of Laos, according to scientists from the Wildlife
Conservation Society and the University of Melbourne who
made the discovery.
Aside from its unique characteristics, the avian is
noteworthy because it is the only known bald songbird in
Asia.
The find additionally marks the first description in over 100
years of a new Asian species of bulbul, since the songbird
has been placed in that family of birds. This bulbul was
named Pycnonotus hualon, with "hualon" being the Lao
word for "bald-headed."
Hardly a shy and retiring bird, the bald-headed bulbul
foraged and noisily moved about the researchers during the
day, making them wonder how this eye-catching bird went
undiscovered for so long.
"Certainly one reason is that the bird appears to be truly
restricted to some very harsh and inaccessible terrain in
Indochina," Peter Clyne told Discovery News. Clyne is the
assistant director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia
Program.
Funded by a local copper and gold mining company,
researchers Iain Woxvold, Will Duckworth and Rob Timmins
recently surveyed birds at Pha Lom, a limestone outcrop in
Laos. That's when the bald-headed beauty caught their eye.
"The bird had alighted directly overhead in a small, leafless
tree, where it remained for two to three minutes, feeding
casually on small fruits and cocking its head to gain a clear
view of the observer," the researchers report in the latest
issue of Forktail, the journal of the Oriental Bird Club.
Before long, the songbird was "joined by another, similar
bird. The duo flew off soon after."
More detailed analysis of the bird determined that, in
addition to its bald head and pink face, it is thrush-sized with
a greenish-olive body, light-colored breast and "bluish skin"
around the eye extending to the bill.
P. hualon appears to be primarily tree-dwelling, but the birds
were often spotted settling on the limestone substrate,
"such as on the edge of a precipice or on jagged crags in
steep terrain
It was hard to miss their songs, which the researchers
variously describe as "bubbling," "churring," "whistled," and
"excited-sounding."
Like an opera singer milking a final aria, the bird produces at
least one song that rises distinctly and ends "abruptly in a
higher, separate note." Yet another call was translated to
human-speak as "ch-ch chi chi-chi-chi-chi," with the
individual notes again rising in pitch.
Birds of a feather in this case do flock together, as the
researchers found little evidence of P. hualon joining other
species.
In terms of mating, little is known at this point, but it's
possible that the bald-headed bulbul is of the lovebird
persuasion. Observed duos appeared to remain bonded to
each other for lengthy periods, suggesting that couples may
maintain these close connections yearlong.
The limestone karsts of Laos and nearby forests are gaining
a reputation for unusual wildlife discoveries.
"Distinct animals thought to be restricted to the wet,
evergreen forests include the Annamite striped rabbit and
the Saola," Clyne said. The Saola, also called the Vu Quang
ox, is a forest-dwelling bovine and is thought to be one of
the world's most rare mammals.
In 2002, co-author Timmins described the then newly found
Laotian rock rat, the lone-surviving member of an otherwise
extinct genus, in the same region of Laos.
Of the new baldheaded avian find, Colin Poole, director of
WCS's Asia programs concluded, "It's always exciting to
discover a new species, but this one is especially unique
because it is the only bald songbird in Asia."
Poole added, "The discovery also underscores how much
there is still to learn from wild places around the world."
bald-headed songbird with a pink, nearly featherless face
and distinctive calls has just been found in a rugged region
of Laos, according to scientists from the Wildlife
Conservation Society and the University of Melbourne who
made the discovery.
Aside from its unique characteristics, the avian is
noteworthy because it is the only known bald songbird in
Asia.
The find additionally marks the first description in over 100
years of a new Asian species of bulbul, since the songbird
has been placed in that family of birds. This bulbul was
named Pycnonotus hualon, with "hualon" being the Lao
word for "bald-headed."
Hardly a shy and retiring bird, the bald-headed bulbul
foraged and noisily moved about the researchers during the
day, making them wonder how this eye-catching bird went
undiscovered for so long.
"Certainly one reason is that the bird appears to be truly
restricted to some very harsh and inaccessible terrain in
Indochina," Peter Clyne told Discovery News. Clyne is the
assistant director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia
Program.
Funded by a local copper and gold mining company,
researchers Iain Woxvold, Will Duckworth and Rob Timmins
recently surveyed birds at Pha Lom, a limestone outcrop in
Laos. That's when the bald-headed beauty caught their eye.
"The bird had alighted directly overhead in a small, leafless
tree, where it remained for two to three minutes, feeding
casually on small fruits and cocking its head to gain a clear
view of the observer," the researchers report in the latest
issue of Forktail, the journal of the Oriental Bird Club.
Before long, the songbird was "joined by another, similar
bird. The duo flew off soon after."
More detailed analysis of the bird determined that, in
addition to its bald head and pink face, it is thrush-sized with
a greenish-olive body, light-colored breast and "bluish skin"
around the eye extending to the bill.
P. hualon appears to be primarily tree-dwelling, but the birds
were often spotted settling on the limestone substrate,
"such as on the edge of a precipice or on jagged crags in
steep terrain
It was hard to miss their songs, which the researchers
variously describe as "bubbling," "churring," "whistled," and
"excited-sounding."
Like an opera singer milking a final aria, the bird produces at
least one song that rises distinctly and ends "abruptly in a
higher, separate note." Yet another call was translated to
human-speak as "ch-ch chi chi-chi-chi-chi," with the
individual notes again rising in pitch.
Birds of a feather in this case do flock together, as the
researchers found little evidence of P. hualon joining other
species.
In terms of mating, little is known at this point, but it's
possible that the bald-headed bulbul is of the lovebird
persuasion. Observed duos appeared to remain bonded to
each other for lengthy periods, suggesting that couples may
maintain these close connections yearlong.
The limestone karsts of Laos and nearby forests are gaining
a reputation for unusual wildlife discoveries.
"Distinct animals thought to be restricted to the wet,
evergreen forests include the Annamite striped rabbit and
the Saola," Clyne said. The Saola, also called the Vu Quang
ox, is a forest-dwelling bovine and is thought to be one of
the world's most rare mammals.
In 2002, co-author Timmins described the then newly found
Laotian rock rat, the lone-surviving member of an otherwise
extinct genus, in the same region of Laos.
Of the new baldheaded avian find, Colin Poole, director of
WCS's Asia programs concluded, "It's always exciting to
discover a new species, but this one is especially unique
because it is the only bald songbird in Asia."
Poole added, "The discovery also underscores how much
there is still to learn from wild places around the world."
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