Species Pride!

Folks on a research expedition from the Natural History Museum of London have found a new bird – hitherto unknown to modern civilization. And isn’t he a beauty?

This relative of mine hangs out high in the eastern Andeans of Columbia.

According to Thomas Donegan (who along with Blanca Huertas found this beautiful finch) “about two to three new birds are found every year.” Donegan states that finding a new bird is a “rare event.”

I think he’s missing the big picture. Two to three times a year? How come new birds keep popping up with such frequency? What’s going on? Have those “new” birds always been there – hanging out in isolated regions of the world (perhaps trying to hide from humans?) or are birds evolutionary creatures with great longevity as a species, and they are not only hiding out from humans, but continually evolving, adapting?

Scientific evidence suggests birds are either descended from dinosaurs or from reptiles that hung out here on earth long before dinosaurs made the scene. Either way, we birds have been on this planet almost as long as dirt and we continue to survive and evolve – we are the kings and queens of the evolutionary process, survivors with unparalleled skills and ability. Just think how much natural history is encoded in our DNA, how much collective knowledge is stored in our brains.

And some folks have the audacity to use "bird brain" as a derogative. Hah!