For the first time in 170 years, a black-browed babbler has been found in Indonesia, researchers reported last week.
The discovery of the muted black, gray, and chestnut-brown bird solves what an authoritative birding guide describes as "one of the great enigmas of Indonesian ornithology"
"When we actually got confirmation of the identification, I did a little prayer and bowed down to celebrate," said Panji Gusti Akbar, an ornithologist and lead author of the paper describing the new species.
"I felt excitement, disbelief, and a lot of happiness." Ornithologists first described black-browed babblers around 1850 after the collection of the only known specimen of the species.
The specimen was at first mislabelled as having come from the island of Java rather than Borneo, stymieing early attempts to locate additional black-browed babblers.
But even after ornithologists cleared up the geographic mix-up, no one managed to find the bird.
It has not helped that, traditionally, few birders and ornithologists have ventured to the Indonesian side of Borneo.
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In 2016, that began to change with the founding of BW Galeatus, a bird-watching group in Indonesian Borneo.
BW Galeatus members have reached out to local people to teach them about the avian diversity in their provinces.
Two of those local men, Muhammad Suranto and Muhammad Rizky Fauzan, were curious about the identity of a black-and-brown bird they sometimes saw flitting around during their trips into the forest in South Kalimantan, one of Indonesia's provinces on Borneo.
In October, Mr. Suranto and Mr. Fauzan managed to catch one of the birds and text photos to Joko Said Trisiyanto, a member of BW Galeatus.