Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii Finsch, 1901
Blue-wattled bulbul, Finsch's bulbul
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii inexspectatus Chasen, 1939 (Chasen & Hoogerwarf, 1941?)
Conservation Status
Last record: 21 March 1937
Rediscovered in 1 September 1992
[L]
IUCN RedList status: Data Deficient
The Blue-wattled Bulbul was rediscovered after more than 55 years, when several field observations were made in September 1992 by Robert Williams (Williams, 2002). However, Williams (2002) has called into question the validity of [i]Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii[/i], on account of its obvious rarity, ocular ring colours and its enlarged eye-wattles. But even if it is a hybrid, it may still be a valid taxon, viz. a naturally ocurring hybrid that has become fixed. Speciation has regularly been driven through hybridisation, especially in plants. And Williams (2002) noted the peculiar tail, something which he could not produce theoretically by crossing any known Bulbul congeners of [i]P. nieuwenhuisii[/i]. So even if it is of hybrid origin it may have undergone significant evolution since its origin, and hence deserve to be recognised as a new taxa even if it is a hybrid. The obvious call for DNA analysis of museum specimens should be heeded. Martin et al. (2023) give the rediscovery year (i.e. 1992) as the last record of the species.
Distribution
Sumatra, Indonesia; Kalimantan, Indonesia and Brunei, Borneo
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Finsch O. (1901). Note XIII. Ueber eine neue Art Haarvogel aus Central-Borneo. Notes Leyden Museum 23: 95.
Other references:
Balen, B. van. (2001). Note on the occurrence of Finsch's Bulbul on Sumatra. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 121: 94-98.
BirdLife International. (2012). Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 09 July 2012.
Butchart, S. H. M.; Collar, N. J.; Crosby, M. J. & Tobias, J. A. (2005). Asian enigmas: "Lost" and poorly known birds: targets for birders in Asia. Birding Asia 3: 41-49.
Chasen, F. N. (1939) Preliminary diagnoses of new birds from North Sumatra II. Treubia 17: 183-184.
Chasen, F. N. and Hoogerwerf, A. (1941) Birds of the Netherlands; Indian Mt. Leuser expedition 1937 to Northern Sumatra. Treubia 18 (supplement).
Collar, Nigel J. (2014). Blue-wattled Bulbul Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii and Black-browed Babbler Malacocincla perspicillata: two Sundaic passerines in search of a life. BirdingASIA 21: 37-44.
Martin, Thomas E., Bennett, Gareth C., Fairbairn, Andrew J. and Mooers, A. Ø. (2023). ‘Lost’ taxa and their conservation implications. Animal Conservation 26(1): 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12788 [Appendix S2 (1617 taxa not seen >10 years); Appendix S3 (562 taxa not seen >50 years)]
Scheffers, Brett R., Yong, Ding Li, Harris, J. Berton C., Giam, Xingli and Sodhi, Navjot S. (2011). The world’s rediscovered species: back from the brink? PLoS ONE 6(7): e22531. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022531 [Supporting Information (Table S1)]
Williams, Robert S. R. (2002). The rediscovery and doubtful validity of the Blue-wattled Bulbul Pycnonotus nieuwenhuisii. Forktail 18: 107-110.