 The first-ever photograph of Yellow-crested Helmetshrike (Prionops alberti) Credit: Matt Brady / The University of Texas at El Paso First Known Photos of ‘Lost Bird’ Not Seen in 2 Decades are Captured by University of Texas Scientists: For the first time, scientists have captured photos of a bird in Africa that was unseen for nearly twenty years. Known as the Yellow-crested Helmetshrike, the species had been listed as a ‘lost bird’ by the American Bird Conservancy because it had not been spotted in nearly two decades. Scientists from the University of Texas at El Paso discovered a small flock of the birds during a six-week expedition to a mountain range in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. “It was a mind-blowing experience to come across these birds. We knew they might be possible here, but I was not prepared for how spectacular and unique they would appear in life,” said UTEP assistant professor Michael Harvey, Ph.D, an ornithologist. Harvey co-led the expedition with UTEP Professor Eli Greenbaum, Ph.D. They were joined by ornithologist Matt Brady, as well as a group of Congolese researchers from the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles. The team trekked on foot for 75 miles through the depths of the Itombwe Massif mountains, studying birds, amphibians, and reptiles along the way. While exploring the cloud forests on the slopes of a mountain, Harvey and Brady stumbled upon the helmetshrike—a striking black bird with a bright yellow “helmet.” In total, about 18 helmetshrikes appeared in noisy and active groups among the mid-layer of forest vegetation at three sites, during the expedition. The bird is endemic to the western slopes of the Albertine Rift of Central Africa, according to Harvey, a region that has been largely inaccessible due to war and security issues, but which has recently become safer to visit. “This inspires hope that perhaps the species still has a reasonably healthy population in the remote forests of the region,” Harvey said. With mining, logging, and agriculture making inroads deep into the forests of the Itombwe range, the team is in discussions with other researchers and conservation organizations to launch efforts to protect the helmetshrikes. “Right now is a golden opportunity to protect these tropical forests, so that we don’t lose species like the helmetshrike before they are known and studied,” said Harvey. The expedition, which ran from December 2023 to January 2024, yielded other important discoveries.  The Red-bellied Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis hematogaster) had not been seen since the 1950s – Credit: Eli Greenbaum / The University of Texas at El Paso The herpetology team rediscovered the Red-bellied Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis hematogaster) which had not been seen since the 1950s. This was Greenbaum’s eleventh expedition to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he was inspired to write his book, Emerald Labyrinth: A Scientist’s Adventures in the Jungles of the Congo.The dean of the College of Science at UTEP hopes these groundbreaking discoveries will illuminate and inspire students and scientists worldwide. First Known Photos of ‘Lost Bird’ Not Seen in 2 Decades are Captured by University of Texas Scientists |
Very Rare Precious Pics Of Albert Einstein
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better
A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.
Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them
Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
 Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.
 If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough  Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. 
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.
 It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.
No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.
If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed
When the solution is simple, God is answering.
It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.
The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.
 Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.  The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.
Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.
Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.
Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.
All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.
The only source of knowledge is experience.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.
If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.
Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.  
A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.
 Love is a better teacher than duty.
I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation and is but a reflection of human frailty.
You can't blame gravity for falling in love
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.
True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.
An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.
God always takes the simplest way
The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.
It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.
The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
Information is not knowledge.
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
|
