The Myanmar Jerdon’s babbler (Chrysomma altirostre altirostre), last seen in Myanmar more than 70 years ago, has been discovered still living in the country, according to a team of ornithologists headed by Dr Frank Rheindt from the National University of Singapore.

The Jerdon’s babbler (Chrysomma altirostre) is a thick-billed and long-tailed babbler from South Asia.

This endangered species occurs in the Indus valley of Pakistan, the plains and Brahmaputra valley of north-east India, and the terai of Nepal, historically from Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The bird was first discovered by T. C. Jerdon in January 1862 near Thayetmyo in the Ayeyarwady floodplain, Myanmar.

Measuring 16–17 cm in length, it has grey lores, throat and breast. The lower mandible is paler. The eyes are brown to golden-brown, the eye-rings are greenish-yellow.

It has rich brown upperparts and a long brownish-red tail. The underparts are brownish-buff except for the ashy grey chin and throat, and the short bill is also grayish.

Male and female Jerdon’s babblers are very similar in appearance, but the juveniles have a darker bill, slightly paler upperparts and the underparts are more tinged with red.

The Jerdon’s babbler is mainly insectivorous although small seeds also feature in its diet.

There are three recognized subspecies of the bird: the Myanmar Jerdon’s babbler (Chrysomma altirostre altirostre), the Terai Jerdon’s babbler (C. a. griseigularis), and the Sind Jerdon’s babbler (C. a. scindicum).

At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the subspecies, the Myanmar Jerdon’s babbler, was common in the vast natural grassland that once covered the Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady and Sittaung flood plains.

Since then, agriculture and communities have gradually replaced most of these grasslands as the area has developed.

According to the ornithologists, the Myanmar Jerdon’s babbler had not been seen in the country since July 1941, where it was last found in the small remnants of the Myitkyo swamp near the entrance to the Pegu-Sittang canal.

Dr Rheindt and his colleagues rediscovered the bird on May 30, 2014, while surveying a site around an abandoned agricultural station that still contained some grassland habitat.

After hearing its distinct call, they played back a recording and were rewarded with the sighting of an adult bird.

Over the next 48 hours, they repeatedly found Myanmar Jerdon’s babblers at several locations in the immediate vicinity and managed to obtain blood samples and high-quality photographs.

Further analysis of DNA samples taken from the birds will be studied by the team to determine if the Myanmar Jerdon’s babbler should be considered a full species.

“Our sound recordings indicate that there may be pronounced bioacoustic differences between the Myanmar subspecies and those further west, and genetic data may well confirm the distinctness of the Myanmar population,” said Dr Rheindt, who is the lead author on the study, published in the journal Birding Asia.

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Frank E. Rheindt et al. 2014. The rediscovery of Myanmar’s Jerdon’s Babbler Chrysomma altirostre altirostre. Birding Asia 22: 13-15