List of bird species described in the 2000s

This page details the bird species described as new to science in the decade from 2000 to 2010:

Summary statistics

Number of species described per year Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Number of new species described 5 8 6 3 6 6 5 6 7 5

Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Indonesia had the highest numbers of newly described species.

Years 2000 Foothill elaenia, Myiopagis olallaiCoopmans, P. & Krabbe, N. (2000). "A new species of flycatcher (Tyrannidae: Myiopagis) from eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru". The Wilson Bulletin. 112: 305–312. Caatinga antwren, Herpsilochmus sellowiWhitney, B. M.; Pacheco, J. F.; Buzzetti, D. R. C. & Parrini, R. (2000). "Systematic revision and biogeography of the Herpsilochmus pileatus complex, with description of a new species from northeastern Brazil". Auk. 117: 869–891. Taiwan bush-warbler, Bradypterus alishanensisRasmussen, P. C.; Round, P. D.; Dickinson, E. C. & Rozendaal, F. G. (2000). "A new bush-warbler (Sylviidae, Bradypterus) from Taiwan". The Auk. 117: 279–289. Scarlet-banded barbet or Wallace's scarlet-banded barbet, Capito wallaceiO'Neill, Lane, Kratter, Capparella & Fox Joo (2000). Gunnison sage-grouse, Centrocercus minimusYoung, Braun, Oyler-McCance, Hupp & Quinn (2000).

Newly split species Gray-crested cacholote, Pseudoseisura unirufa, formerly included in the Caatinga cacholoteZimmer, Kevin J. & Whittaker, Andrew (2000). "The Rufous Cacholote (Furnariidae: Pseudoseisura) is two species". Condor. 102 (2): 409–422.

2001 Bukidnon woodcock, Scolopax bukidnonensis, from Mindanao and Luzon, PhilippinesKennedy, Robert S.; Fisher, Timothy H.; Harrap, Simon C. B.; Diesmos, Arvin C. & Manamtam, Arturo S. (2001). "A new species of woodcock from the Philippines and a re-evaluation of other Asian/Papuasian woodcock". Forktail. 17 (1): 1–12. Mekong wagtail, Motacilla samveasnaeDuckworth, J. W.; Alström, P.; Davidson, P.; Evans, T. D.; Poole, C. M.; Tan, S. & Timmins, R. J. (2001). "A new species of wagtail from the lower Mekong basin". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 121: 152–182. Chestnut-eared laughingthrush, Garrulax konkakinhensisEames, J. C. & Eames, C. (2001). Chestnut-capped piha, Lipaugus weberiCuervo, Andres; Salaman, P.; Donegan, T. M. & Ochoa, J. M. (2001). "A new species of piha (Cotingidae: Lipaugus) from the Cordillera Central of Colombia". Ibis. 143: 353–368. Chapada flycatcher, Suiriri islerorum, from the Cerrado region of Brazil and adjacent eastern BoliviaZimmer, K. J.; Whittaker, A. & Oren, D. C. (2001). "A cryptic new species of flycatcher (Tyrannidae: Suiriri) from the Cerrado Region of central South America". Auk. 118: 56–78. Mishana tyrannulet, Zimmerius villarejoi, from Amazonian white sand forests in northern PeruAlonso, J. A. & Whitney, B. M. (2001). "A new Zimmerius tyrannulet (Aves: Tyrannidae) from white sand forests of northern Amazonian Peru". The Wilson Bulletin. 113: 1–9. Lulu's tody-tyrant, Poecilotriccus luluae, from the north-eastern Andes in Peru:Johnson, N. K. & Jones, R. E. (2001). "A new species of tody-tyrant (Tyrannidae: Poecilotriccus) from northern Peru". Auk. 118: 334–341. Vanuatu petrel, Poecilotriccus luluaeImber, M. J.; Tennyson, A. J. D. (2001). "A new petrel species (Procellariidae) from the south-west Pacific". Emu. 101 (2): 123–127. .

2002 Bald parrot, Pionopsitta aurantiocephala, from BrazilGaban-Lima, Renato; Raposo, Marcos A. & Höfling, Elizabeth (2002). "Description of a New Species of Pionopsitta (Aves: Psittacidae) Endemic to Brazil". Auk. 119 (3): 815–819. Cryptic forest falcon, Micrastur mintoni, from BrazilWhittaker (2003). WilsonBull. (2002) 114: 421, 422, front. Note: This falcon was first reported in 2002; the name was not issued until the following year. Kimberley pipit, Anthus pseudosimilis (Motacillidae)Liversidge & Voelker (2002). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 122: 93. Little Sumba boobook, Ninox sumbaensis, from IndonesiaOlsen, Jerry; Wink, Michael; Sauer-Gürth, Hedi & Trost, Susan (2002). "A new Ninox owl from Sumba, Indonesia". Emu. 102: 223–231. Madeira parakeet, Pyrrhura snethlageae, from the drainage of the Rio Madeira in Bolivia and Brazil. The scientific name of which honours Emilia Snethlage, who first recognized the distinctiveness of this form in 1914. It and the following are both part of the Pyrrhura picta complex. Carajas woodcreeper, Xiphocolaptes carajaensisBulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.

Newly split species Lafresnaye's woodcreeper, Xiphorhynchus guttatoides, formerly included in the buff-throated woodcreeper Elegant woodcreeper, X. elegans, formerly included in Spix's woodcreeper Tschudi's woodcreeper, X. chunchotambo, formerly included in the ocellated woodcreeperAleixo, Alexandre (2002). "Molecular Systematics and the Role of the 'Várzea'-'Terra-Firme' Ecotone in the Diversification of Xiphorhynchus Woodcreepers (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae)". Auk. 119 (3): 621–640.

2003 Micrastur mintoni, (see above) first described in 2003 Pernambuco pygmy owl, Glaucidium mooreorum, a critically endangered species of pygmy owl Carrizal seedeater, Amaurospiza carrizalensis, from Venezuela Munchique wood-wren, Henicorhina negreti, a member of the wren family (Troglodytidae). The bird is found on the Munchique Massif in the western Andes in the Chocó Endemic Bird Area of Colombia. The species' scientific name honours Alvaro José Negret, a Colombian conservationist. This is the first species to have been described as new to science on a website rather than in a traditional print-only journal. Okarito brown kiwi, Apteryx rowi, (also known as the rowi) is a member of the kiwi family (Apterygidae). The species is part of the brown kiwi complex, and is morphologically very similar to other members of that complex. It is found in a restricted area of the Ōkārito forest on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, and has a population of only 200 birds. Xenoperdix udzungwensis obscurataFjeldsa & Kiure (2003). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 123: 53. This was originally described as a subspecies. Its status as a species separate from X. udzungwensis was recognised in 2005Rauri C. K. Bowie & Jon Fjeldså (1 January 2005). "Genetic and Morphological Evidence for Two Species in the Udzungwa Forest Partridge Xenoperdix udzungwensis". Journal of East African Natural History. 94 (1), 191-201

2004 Serendib scops-owl, Otus thilohoffmanni, a small, rufous owl (Strigidae) found in lowland rainforests in Sri Lanka. The new species was discovered in February 1995, when Deepal Warakagoda heard unfamiliar owl-like vocalisations, although it was not until January 2001, when Warakagoda saw the bird, that his suspicions were confirmed; other observers had suggested that an arboreal amphibian may have been the source of the noises. The name Serendib is an old name for Sri Lanka; the species' scientific name honours conservationist Thilo W. Hoffmann.:Warakagoda, D. H. & Rasmussen, P. C. (2004). "A new species of scops-owl from Sri Lanka". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 124: 85–105. Togian hawk-owl, Ninox burhani, an owl (Strigidae). The bird is known only from three islands in the Togian group, an archipelago in the Gulf of Tomini off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The new species was discovered on 25 December 1999. The species' scientific name honours a local conservationist called Burhan.Indrawan, M. & Somadikarta, S. (2004). "A new hawk-owl from the Togian Islands, Gulf of Tomini, central Sulawesi, Indonesia". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 124: 160–171. Rubeho akalat, Sheppardia aurantiithorax, a member of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapiidae), known from the Eastern Arc of Tanzania. Akalats trapped in 1989 were assumed to be an isolated population of the Iringa akalat which occurs about 150 km to the south, but further specimens collected in 2000 led to the description of the bird as a new species. The bird's English name relates to its type locality; the scientific name to the ochraceous colour on its throat and upper breast. The species is thought to be fairly common in montane forests within its small range.Beresford, P.; Fjeldså, J. & Kiure, J. (2004). "A new species of akalat (Sheppardia narrowly endemic in the Eastern Arc of Tanzania)". Auk. 121: 23–24. Acre antshrike, Thamnophilus divisorus, from Brazil Calayan rail, Gallirallus calayanensis, a member of the rail family (Rallidae) found only on Calayan Island, one of the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines. It was discovered in 2004 as part of a faunal survey. It is found in limestone forests on the island.Allen, Desmond; Oliveros, Carl; Espaňola, Carmela; Broad, Genevieve & Gonzalez, Juan Carlos T. (2004). "A new species of Gallirallus from Calayan island, Philippines". Forktail. 20: 1–7. Mees's nightjar, Caprimulgus meesi, a member of the nightjar family (Caprimulgidae). It is a representative of the large-tailed nightjar complex found on Flores and Sumba in Indonesia. Previously unrecognised as a separate taxon due to its lack of morphological distinctness, Sangster and Rozendaal described this new species on the basis of its vocalisations, which differ significantly from those of the large-tailed nightjar races resident on other islands in the Lesser Sundas. The species is named after Gerlof Mees, former curator of the Natural History Museum, Leiden.Sangster, G. & Rozendaal, F. (2004). "Territorial songs and species-level taxonomy of nightjars of the Caprimulgus macrurus complex, with the description of a new species". Zoologische Verhandelingen. 350: 7–45.

2005 Sulphur-breasted parakeet, Aratinga pintoi, (a member of the parrot family, Psittacidae) found along the northern bank of the lower River Amazon in Pára state, Brazil. The species' scientific name honours Oliverio Pinto, a Brazilian ornithologist. This species was discovered as a result of a study of museum specimens of sun parakeet and related species; specimens of this species had been dismissed as immature parakeets of other species, or hybrids.Silviera, L.; de Lima, F.C.T. & Höfling, E. (2005). "A new species of Aratinga parakeet (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) from Brazil, with taxonomic remarks on the Aratinga solstitialis complex". Auk. 122: 292–305. Upper Magdalena tapaculo, Scytalopus rodriguezi, (a member of the tapaculo family, Rhinocryptidae) a restricted-range endemic presently known only from two localities on the eastern slope of the Cordillera Central at the head of the Magdalena valley in Colombia at 2000 m or more above sea-level. Its range is believed to be no greater than 170 km2, and its population around 2,200 pairs. It is found in humid forest with dense understorey. The species' scientific name honours José Vicente Rodriguez Mahecha, a Colombian conservationist. The existence of this species was first suspected in 1986, when a tape-recording of the bird's song was made, but political instability in the region prevented a return visit until 2002 and 2003, when the species' existence was confirmed.Krabbe, N.; Salaman, P.; Cortés, A.; Quevedo, A.; Ortega, L.A. & Cadena, C.D. (2005). "A new species of tapaculo from the upper Magdalena valley, Colombia". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 125: 93–108.