'Hanuman Plover' - New bird species discovered in Sri Lanka

by Zulfick Farzan 15-12-2020 | 7:36 PM

Colombo (News 1st); Researchers at the University of Colombo discovered a new species of bird.

The discovery was made by Dr. Sampath Seneviratne from the Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences at the University of Colombo, Professor Yang Liu from China, and under-graduate research student Jude Janitha Niroshan.

Dr. Sampath Seneviratne said the new bird (Shore Bird), was located from the shoreline of Sri Lanka close to Mannar, Jaffna, and Hambantota District wetlands as well as the Chain of Islands from Mannar to Koneswaram, India.

He said the wetlands are critically important for migrant birds and breeding birds in Sri Lanka as well as the shorebirds.

The new bird species is considered as a sub-species of the Kentish plover (Charadrius Alexandrinus), said Dr. Sampath Seneviratne.

However, he said the research team looked at the phylogeny and the genomic region using various methods and it led them to conclude the sub-species is a separate species.

The researchers have decided to name the new species as the Hanuman Plover, to signify the affinity of Hanuman into Rama's Bridge and critical areas for shorebirds in Sri Lanka.

He said the bird is white in color and is the size of a robin and it breeds in the wetlands in Sri Lanka.