A new species of songbird has been discovered in the Galapagos Islands, but it is already thought to be extinct.

"This marks an important landmark for conservation in the Galapagos, and a call to arms to understand why these birds have declined," says co-author Jack Dumbacher from the California Academy of Sciences.

The findings were published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

Melissa Hogenboom is BBC Earth's feature writer. She is @melissasuzanneh on Twitter.

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