 The Satin Berrypecker was recently discovered in cloud forest habitat in western New Guinea (illustration by Suzabolcs Kokay).  A close-up of the Satin Berrypecker shows the yellow coloration on the white underside (photo by Borja Mila).
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Continuing with New Guinea’s rich history of providing exciting avian discoveries, a new species of bird was discovered during a recent ornithology expedition to the Kumawa Mountains in West Papua. Discovered high in cloud forest habitat at an elevation of 3,700 feet, this new bird species, now named the Satin Berrypecker (Melanocharis citreola), has iridescent blue-black upper plumage with satin-white underparts washed with a trace of lemon-yellow, and its outer tail feathers are edged with white.
New Guinea remains one of the least biologically explored regions of the world, and much remains to be learned about its unique avifauna. The new species was found in the Bird’s Head Isthmus on the west side of the island, which connects the Vogelkop Peninsula to the rest of New Guinea. The region harbors a unique landscape of rugged and isolated limestone karst mountains that hosts an impressive diversity of ecological niches as a result of complex terrain, a range of elevations, and variable climatic conditions.
The region remains largely unexplored because of its treacherous terrain, steep mountain slopes, and a lack of streams and other surface water at high elevations. The Kumawa Mountains are uninhabited by people, and apart from coastal areas, have likely always been uninhabited. The area has no access roads and no trails, and this combination of factors have preserved most of the forest habitats.
The expedition team reached their campsite by boat and made forays into the mountains from there, led by Borja Mila from Spain’s National Museum of Natural Science (Museo de Nacional Ciencias Naturales). For more information, you can refer to the original eBird report at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/a-new-species-of-berrypecker-discovered-in-new-guinea