The rediscovery of the Myanmar Jerdon's babbler (Chrysomma altirostre altirostre) thought to have been extinct in Myanmar (then Burma) since 1941 has been confirmed by a conservation research team.
While surveying grasslands near the town of Myitkyo in May 2014, a team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Myanmar's Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division and the National University of Singapore (NUS) heard the call of the long-lost Jerdon's babbler.
The team played back a recording of the call and an adult Jerdon's babbler came into view.
That first encounter led to the discovery of even more Jerdon's babblers. To its surprise, the team found large numbers of the "extinct" birds in many locations near the first call.
"Our sound recordings indicate that there may be pronounced bio-acoustic differences between the Myanmar subspecies and those further west, and genetic data may well confirm the distinctness of the Myanmar population," said Frank Rheindt, an assistant professor in the NUS Department of Biological Sciences, to Discovery.
Jerdon's babbler is an endangered passerine bird the size of an ordinary house sparrow endemic to South Asia. It has three subspecies: Myanmar Jerdon's babbler, Terai Jerdon's babbler and Sind Jerdon's babbler
Measuring 16 cm to17 cm in length, Jerdon's babbler is a drab bird with a long tail and a thick bill. Its color is a buffy chestnut brown above and a slightly lighter yellowish-brown on the belly.
The bird was first described in 1862 and was a common sight in Myanmar at the start of the 20th century. Its habitat around the Yangon region was lost over time to agriculture and community development.
"This discovery not only proves that the species still exists in Myanmar but that the habitat can still be found as well," said Colin Poole, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's efforts in Singapore.
He noted the degradation of these vast grasslands led many to consider this subspecies of Jerdon's babbler extinct.
DNA samples and audio recordings taken from the newfound Myanmar Jerdon's babbler should help researchers determine if this babbler should be a full species in its own right.