Current events discussion forum #4

Current events discussion forum

Intructions: You need to pick ONE of the week’s articles, read it, and participate in the discussion of that article by responding to the leader’s initial post.

I chose the article New Species of Bird, Already Endangered

Leaders initial post:

New species of birds like the New Caledonian storm petrel are found annually as many sea birds like petrels live on islands and they tend to stay away from people or are nocturnal.  It’s normal for people to see the birds for years or more than a century before they get discovered or their bodies are put in museums. They haven’t figured out the species because they are so similar to others. One species that was rediscovered in 2003 after being thought extinct was the New Zealand storm petrel and the New Caledonian storm petrel was originally thought to be the same bird.  After realizing the birds are different as the New Caledonian storm petrels are slightly larger than the New Zealand storm petrel.  The New Zealand storm petrel and the New Caledonian storm petrel are in the same family but are different species.  The new Caledonian storm petrel has only about 100 to 1000 pairs and because we haven’t found where they breed, we are concerned about them going extinct.  If we find where they breed, then we can find just how many there are and keep track of their numbers.  I do find it interesting just how birds can go extinct than be rediscovered and how we are still finding new birds.  I thought this was quite interesting and wondered just how many more secrets the earth holds especially when we have found so much.  What do you think of these findings?  Do you wonder what other bird species are still to be discovered, what about other animal or plant species?  Is there a reason you think this way?

The New Caledonian storm petrel, a new species of bird, already endangered (phys.org) (Links to an external site.)