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BIRDING ADVENTURES TV NEWS Greetings!
This week we feature some exciting news from BirdLife International about the discovery of a new warbler species from Vietnam. Its always a thrill to have a new bird to add to the list! Speaking of lists, keep checking our website as you will soon be able to update and keep your very own Life List on our website. Congratulations to the winner of our weekly quizz, Don DesJardin from California! And be sure to enter this week's quizz to win a copy of Life List by Olivia Gentile. Learn more below about our upcoming show, the Aplomado Falcons of the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Stay tuned for another Birding Adventure! 
THE TV SHOW WHERE BIRDS OF A FEATHER ADVENTURE TOGETHER
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NEW SPECIES OF WARBLER DISCOVERED IN VIETNAM A new species of warbler has been described from the karst limestone country of Vietnam and Laos by scientists from BirdLife International, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Swedish Museum of Natural History, and Wildlife Conservation Society. A new species of warbler has been described from the karst limestone country of Vietnam and Laos by scientists from BirdLife International, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Swedish Museum of Natural History, and Wildlife Conservation Society. Named Limestone Leaf-warbler Phylloscopus calciatilis, the new species is very similar to Sulphur-breasted Warbler P. ricketti, in morphology, but it is smaller with a proportionately larger bill and rounder wing. Its song and calls are diagnostic. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, the new species is most closely related to P. ricketti and Yellow-vented Warbler P. cantator.
Ulf Johansson/Swedish Museum of Natural History "Although this was a collective effort involving a number of institutions and individuals I would like to pay particular tribute to Per Alstrom, the lead author who undertook most of the hard work, research and analysis in putting this together", said Jonathan Eames, Programme Manager of BirdLife International in Indochina.
Initially, the bird was identified as a Sulphur-breasted Warbler, in itself an interesting finding, since it was apparently breeding more than 1,000 km south of its previously known breeding areas in China. Later it was realised that its songs differed markedly from the songs of the Sulphur-breasted warbler, and further studies were undertaken. The BirdLife and Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources authors provided proof that the species was a resident breeding species in the karst limestone region of central Vietnam. The type description of the species is published in the latest issue of the Ibis, the international journal of avian science published by the British Ornithologists Union.
"The karst limestone regions of Laos and Vietnam are noted for their levels of plant, invertebrate and mammal diversity. It is however, only relatively recently that its importance for bird diversity has begun to be appreciated", said Eames.
The ranges of four bird species are now known coincide with the karst. One of these, Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti was rediscovered in the same region of Vietnam as the Limestone Leaf Warbler by BirdLife researchers in 1994 after an absence of 64 years.
There are large areas of forested karst within the known range of the species and it is known to occur in Hin Namno National Protected Area in Laos and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam. Although the species is not believed to be under any immediate threat the conservation status of this taxon will be assessed in due course by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group; BirdLife will then evaluate its extinction risk category for the IUCN Red List (for which BirdLife is the official Red List Authority).
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| APLOMADO FALCONS! The Aplomado Falcon, Falco femoralis, is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest contiguous range is in South America. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer to the Bat Falcon (F. rufigularis). Its resemblance in shape to the hobbies accounts for its old name Orange-chested Hobby. Aplomado is an unusual Spanish word for "Lead-colored", referring to the blue-grey areas of the plumage - an approximate English translation would be "leaden falcon". It feeds on large invertebrates and small vertebrates, with small birds making up the overwhelming bulk of its prey. Mixed species flocks in open cerrado and grassland will go on frenzied alert upon spotting this species; small birds fear it more than most other predators. It is often seen soaring at twilight hunting insects and eating them on the wing. It also hunts at fields being burned, at which many birds of this species may gather; cooperation between individual Aplomado Falcons - usually members of a pair - has also been recorded. Prey items typically weigh one-fifth to one-half of the falcons' own weight, but females of this species (which due to their size can tackle larger prey) have been recorded eating birds larger than themselves, such as a Cattle Egret (Bulbucus ibis) or a Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula), on rare occasions.
These birds were extiirpated from most of South Texas by the 1950s and a consrted effort for conservation authorities has ensured the birds comeback. Catch the quest for this endangered American Falcon this week on BATV!
The threatened Aplomado Falcon |
 BATV WEEKLY QUIZZCorrectly identify the mystery bird in the photo at left and win a copy of Olivia Gentile's new book, "Life List". See below for more details on this great book. Email all answers to info@BirdingAdventures.com and title your email "Quizz". Clue: A nestling rallid of sorts The winner (first correct entry drawn) will be announced in next week's newsletter.  LIFE LIST: A Woman's Quest for the World's Most Amazing Birds by journalist Olivia Gentile is a provocative and moving biography of Phoebe Snetsinger, who spent the first half of her adulthood raising children outside St. Louis and the second half making hundreds of expeditions to remote, rugged corners of all seven continents and seeing more bird species than anyone in history.
Congratulations to our last winner, Don DesJardin of Ventura CA, who correctly identified our last mystery bird as a Limpkin! Don won a copy of Life List by Olivia Gentile |
TV SCHEDULE Our schedule for early 2010 is as follows: Week of January 11 Aplomado Falcon - Texas Week of January 18 Guianan Toucanet - Suriname Week of January 25 Red-crowned Parrots - Texas 
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Happy Birding, Nikon's Birding Adventures Team 
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