Super rare hummingbird thought to be extinct reemerges after 12 years

The bird in question is called the Santa Maria sabrewing, native to Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains.

'I couldn't believe it was waiting there for me'

Yurgen Vega, the lucky birdwatcher who spotted the rare bird, works with the conservation organisations Selva, ProCAT Colombia and World Parrot Trust and explained that he was 'overcome with emotion' at the sight of the bird. He explained that:

The sighting was a complete surprise. When I first saw the hummingbird I immediately thought of the Santa Marta sabrewing. I couldn’t believe it was waiting there for me to take out my camera and start shooting.

And added:

I was almost convinced it was the species, but because I felt so overcome by emotion, I preferred to be cautious; it could’ve been the Lazuline sabrewing, which is often confused with Santa Marta sabrewing. But once we saw the pictures, we knew it was true.

What this comeback means for other endangered species

Speaking to The Guardian, Esteban Botero Delgadillo, director of conservation science with Selva: Research for Conservation in the Neotropics, said that this reemergence needs to be imperatively studied further. He explained that by delving deeper into how and why this bird disappeared for so long only to make an unexpected comeback would reveal the answers to many questions about a plethora of other endangered species. He said:

This finding confirms that we still know very little about many of the most vulnerable and rare species out there, and it is imperative to invest more in understanding them better. It is knowledge that drives action and change – it is not possible to conserve what we do not understand.

And added:

The next step is going out there and searching for stable populations of this species, trying to better understand where it does occur and what the most critical threats are in situ.

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