Schneider’s pitta is a rare bird endemic to the moist montane forest of Sumatra, Indonesia. Because of habitat loss, it is listed as vulnerable. Here is an interesting history of the bird species.
In the late nineteenth century, a Swiss taxidermist Gustav Schneider visited Mount Sibayak, a wild and rough mountain in North Sumatra. Between the years 1897 and 1899, he observed a beautiful bird and named it Schneider’s pitta. Back then, people were still discovering and learning about the amazing things in nature.
Then in 1909, EJO Hartert, a widely published German ornithologist, wrote a detailed description of the bird, which became famous and was shared with many people over the years.
After 1918 the pitta slipped into obscurity, fading away from ornithology records for decades. It was as if the bird had completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Bird lovers and ornithologists wondered what had become of this lovely bird.
Decades later, one early morning in December 1986, two birders and rainforest ecologists Frank Lambert and John Howes visiting Mount Kerinci heard a faraway bird call. They believed it was from the Schneider's pitta, but their excitement was short-lived, as no matter how hard they tried, they could not locate the bird. The forest seemed to protect its secrets, only letting out faint echoes of the bird call.
After about two years, something amazing happened. On an afternoon in August 1988, a British ornithologist Phil Hurrell observed a male Schneider's pitta suddenly flying out from a path, close to the summit of Mount Kerinci, and landing on a fallen tree, its bright colours contrasting with the green background. Shortly, a female pitta joined in. It was as though a love scene was being enacted in nature—the two birds were seen foraging and preening together for more than an hour.
The pair was spotted 2,400 meters above sea level, an altitude much higher than at which the species was previously spotted, based on old records. The bird’s sighting higher up the mountain had surprised ornithologists, showing that it could adapt to and survive in different places.
The rediscovery of Schneider’s pitta after seven decades gave the species a happy ending.
It is a story of how amazing nature can be, but also how delicate and fragile it is.
Comentários