Newly discovered Brazilian bird species already classified as endangered

A new bird species, discovered in a narrow strip in the Atlantic Forest, on the coast of the northeastern state of Bahia, has already been reported as endangered. The bird was locally called “macuquinho-preto-baiano” and was cataloged under the scientific name Scytalopus gonzagai, after Luis Gonzaga, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, whose investigations lasted 20 years.

Ornithologist Giovanni Nachtigall Maurício, the main author of the article that describes the species, said that the study estimates the existence of nearly 3 thousand specimens in the area. “We’ve made a calculation that indicated around 2,888 birds, [which] led [to its being classified as endangered]”, he reported. The assessment entailed the adoption of criteria from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The general rule stipulates that the species, if totaling up to 2,500 individuals, is considered critically imperiled; from 2,500 to 10,000 just endangered; and vulnerable from 10 to 20 thousand.

Scholars originally believed that the species was a common one, found in the South and Southeast of Brazil. Two expeditions, however, conducted in 2004 and 2006 and supported by NGOs Save Brasil, connected with Birdlife International, in the UK, and the Boticário Foundation for the Protection of Nature, respectively, made it possible for them to investigate further in the mountainous region of Bahia and ascertain that the species was a new one.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira