Discovery of a new species of bird in the Wakatobi Islands in Indonesia

Scientists have discovered several new species of birds on the Wakatobi Islands in Indonesia. One of these new species, the Wakatobi honeysuckle, is recognizable by its blue-yellow chest and relatively short wings.

Suckers resemble American hummingbirds and live in the tropics from Africa to Australia. To discover new species within the honeysuckle family, zoologists from Trinity College Dublin collaborated with a team of Indonesian researchers.

On the Wakatobi Islands, southeast of Sulawesi, researchers looked at the previously known steel-breasted sunbird and velvet honeysuckle. They concluded that some of these birds actually belong to previously unobserved species. “It’s amazing that there are still species waiting to be found in this region,” said lead researcher Fionn Ó Marcaigh.

Wakatobi honeysuckle is genetically different from previously discovered species and also looks different. It has darker plumage, a higher song, and shorter wings than the Steel-breasted Sunbird.

While the steel-breasted sunbird spread across several regions, the Wakatobi honeysuckle lived in isolation on the Wakatobi Islands due to its short wings. “Small, isolated islands like these have their own evolutionary processes, and these often produce unique species,” said researcher Ó Marcaigh.