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A Lost Hummingbird is Found Again
Finding a lost species in the mountains of Colombia
© Yurgen Vega / SELVA ProCAT Archive
The Santa Marta Sabrewing is a hummingbird species so rare, they’ve only been documented twice in recent years. Native to the mountains of Colombia, they were officially described in 1946. No one reported another sighting until 2010. They became a “lost” species, eluding every attempt to find them. Then in 2022, Yurgen Vega was studying the birds of a mountain range called the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. He snapped a photo of an unusual, large hummingbird – and the sabrewing was lost no more.
BirdNote®
A Lost Hummingbird is Found Again
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[Colombian mountain birdsong]
The Santa Marta Sabrewing is a hummingbird species so rare, they’ve only been documented twice in recent years. Native to the mountains of Colombia, they’re part of the hummingbird group called “emeralds” for their luminous green feathers. Officially described in 1946, no one reported another sighting until 2010.
Then the sabrewings went missing for years. They became one of more than 150 bird species considered “lost” – not yet extinct, but missing, eluding every attempt to find them.
Then in 2022, a researcher named Yurgen Vega was studying the birds of a mountain range called the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. He spotted an unusual, large hummingbird. The bird stuck around long enough for a photo — and the Santa Marta Sabrewing was lost no more. This bird was a male, with a vibrant blue throat.
In previous centuries this species was probably common. But most of the forests where they live have been destroyed or fragmented, leading to declines in this species and many others. Biologists are now trying to understand the size and location of the sabrewing’s remaining populations.
[Colombian mountain birdsong]
Learn more about lost birds and efforts to find them on our website, BirdNote.org. I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Environmental ML167328 recorded by Matthew Sarver.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote April 2023
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# SAMSAB-01-2023-04-25 SAMSAB-01
Reference:
https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/conservation/hummingbird-unexpec…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/05/rare-hummingbird-re…
Conor Gearin
Writer