A new bird species has been discovered in Gabon, Africa. According to Science Daily, the discoverers are from the Smithsonian Institution. The release says, in part:

The newly found olive-backed forest robin (Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus) was named by the scientists for its distinctive olive back and rump. Adult birds measure 4.5 inches in length and average 18 grams in weight. Males exhibit a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. Both sexes have a distinctive white dot on their face in front of each eye.

The bird was first observed by Smithsonian scientists in 2001 during a field expedition of the National Zoo’s Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program in southwest Gabon. It was initially thought, however, to be an immature individual of an already-recognized species. Brian Schmidt, a research ornithologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and a member of the MAB program’s team, returned to Washington, D.C., from Gabon in 2003 with several specimens to enter into the museum’s bird collection. When he compared them with other forest robins of the genus Stiphrornis in the collection, Schmidt immediately noticed differences in color and plumage, and realized the newly collected birds might be unique.

“I suspected something when I found the first bird in Gabon since it didn’t exactly match any of the species descriptions in the field guides,” Schmidt said. “Once I was able to compare them side by side to other specimens in our collections it was clear that these birds were special. You, of course, have to be cautious, but I was still very excited at the prospect of possibly having found a new species of bird.”
To ensure that the specimens Schmidt collected were a new species, geneticists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo compared the DNA of the new specimens to that of the four known forest robin species. The results clearly showed that these birds were in fact a separate and distinct species.

Discovering an unknown mammal or bird species is far from a common event. Before the 20th century, the rate of discoveries was great—several hundred new species were being described each decade. Since then, however, the pace has slowed and new species of vertebrates are generally only found in isolated areas.

Now officially recognized, the olive-backed forest robin brings Gabon’s number of known bird species to 753. Other than its existence, however, little is known to science about this newcomer.
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“Although finding an unknown species like the olive-backed forest robin was not the goal of the MAB project,” Schmidt said, “it is definitely a reminder that the world still holds surprises for us.”

These findings were published in the international science journal Zootaxa, August 15, 2008.

For more background, read the full text at “New Bird Species Discovered In Gabon, Africa” at ScienceDaily, August 16, 2008.