What happens when a group of “newly minted” Cornell ornithologists go on a birding expedition in the high Peruvian Andes and the team discovers a new species of bird?

They name it after the Cornell Lab of Ornithology executive director Dr. John W. Fitzpatrick whose fieldwork in Peru during the 1970s and 1980s led to numerous discoveries of course!

The team spotted the red breasted bird, now named Sira Barbet (Capito fitzpatricki) during their 2008 expedition and the findings based on Chicago Field Museum genetic research are now published in the July 2012 issue of The Auk, the official publication of the American Ornithologists’ Union, shown at right.

The team discovered the barbet on a ridge of montane cloud forest in the Cerros del Sira range in the eastern Andes. Steep ridges and deep river gorges in the Andes produce many isolated habitats and microclimates that give rise to unique species.

I’m happy to say that this isn’t the first time I’ve been able to write about new bird species discoveries, and I think I speak for all of Raxa Collective in saying that we hope it’s far from the last.

(Click on the top bird image to read more from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website.)