Being a scientist means venturing into the unknown, even when there is no such thing as a certainty you will discover what you are searching for. For researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), this meant roaming the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to discover a hen lengthy thought misplaced. Luckily, their efforts bore fruit, giving us the primary ever pictures of the putting yellow-crested helmetshrike (Prionops alberti).
“It was a mind-blowing experience to come across these birds. We knew they might be possible here, but I was not prepared for how spectacular and unique they would appear in life,” stated expedition co-leader Michael Harvey, Ph.D. in a press release shared by UTEP.
The scientists made the invention throughout a six-week expedition to the Itombwe Massif, a mountain vary in jap Democratic Republic of the Congo. Trekking by foot for over 75 miles, they studied birds, amphibians and reptiles alongside the way in which. Harvey was joined by Professor of Biological Sciences Eli Greenbaum, Ph.D, and ornithologist Matt Brady, in addition to a bunch of Congolese researchers from the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles.
Finally, whereas exploring the cloud forests on the slopes of a mountain, Harvey and Brady stumbled upon the helmetshrike. The eye catching black hen with a shiny yellow “helmet” was described by staff as moderately “noisy and active groups in the midstory of the forest.” In whole, they noticed 18 of those birds in three websites through the expedition.
“This inspires hope that perhaps the species still has a reasonably healthy population in the remote forests of the region,” Harvey stated. Before their sighting, the yellow-crested helmetshrike had not been seen in practically 20 years, sparking fears that the species might have gone extinct.
While battle and inside turnmoil had made explorations to the realm troublesome, the realm is now safer to go to. For now, the subsequent problem is to guard their atmosphere. “Mining and logging as well as the clearing of forests for agriculture are making inroads deep into the forests of the Itombwe range,” Harvey added. “We are in discussions with other researchers and conservation organizations to further efforts to protect the region’s forests and the helmetshrike. Right now is a golden opportunity to protect these tropical forests, so that we don’t lose species like the helmetshrike before they are known and studied.”
h/t: [IFL Science]
Related Articles:
Watch Two Scientists React to Getting the First Ever Footage of an Extremely Rare Bird
Bird Landing on Bride’s Head Wins 2023 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Contest
Beautiful Nineteenth-Century Illustrations of Every Known Hummingbird Species in One Dynamic Poster
Woman Uses Hidden Cameras To Get Candid Look at Birds in Her Backyard
