A New Species: the Bugun Liocichla

Astronomer Ramana Athreya saw a new species of bird while bird-watching in India. Eleven years later, he was able to catch, describe and name Liocichla bugunorum.

In January 1995, astronomer Ramana Athreya was bird-watching in the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh, India when he saw a pair of unusual birds, birds that he recognized as liocichlas, or Asian Babblers, but which did not look quite like any liocichla he had ever seen before. Rare and elusive, they were not seen again until January of 2005.

Athreya had a tentative identification of Liocichla omeiensis, but he needed to get a closer look at the birds; he obtained permission to capture one in a mist net. Working with several others, he was finally successful in May of 2006. He examined the bird, took pictures of it, gathered up the feathers that had gotten caught in the net and released the unharmed liochicla back into the sanctuary.

Even if the bird had turned out to be Liocichla omeiensis it would have been a newsworthy discovery because that bird had never been found within 1000 kilometers of

Eaglenest. This bird, however, was something brand new - a liocichla that, based on its size, plumage and song, had never been seen before. A brand new species. He proposes the name Liocichla bugunorum: the Bugun Liocichla.

You can download the PDF of the scientific paper (with beautiful pictures) in which Athreya's discovery was reported: Athreya, R. "A New Species of Liocichla (Aves: Timaliidae) from Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India." Indian Birds Vol 2, No. 4 (July-August 2006).