A rare bird known only from a single specimen captured in the eastern Congo Basin nearly 70 years ago has become one of the most sought-after species in the global Search for Lost Birds initiative. Scientists first described the Itombwe nightjar, also known as Prigogine’s nightjar (Caprimulgus prigoginei), from a female specimen captured in 1955 in the Itombwe Massif, a vast forested mountain range in what is today South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The bird is among the top 10 of 126 lost birds worldwide that are being sought by the initiative from the American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International and Re:wild. Inclusion on the list means none of the 126 birds has been documented by science for at least the last 10 years. “Our specific interest in highlighting the Itombwe nightjar in the top 10 is that it is a really enigmatic species,” says John Mittermeier, the initiative’s director. Armed conflict between rebel groups in the eastern DRC has made most Western scientists reluctant to venture into South Kivu. Not so Papy Dunia, an ornithologist with strong links to local communities, who has trained in Belgium to capture, handle and research nightjars. Now, he’s using those skills to track down the Itombwe nightjar. In April, Dunia trekked for a week, by motorbike and on foot, to reach the Itombwe field sites, where he set up autonomous recording units (ARUs) — essentially audio recorders — that he’ll retrieve later this year. “It was pretty wet when he…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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