Long Lost African Bird Captured in Striking Photos - Yale E360
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E360 Digest
June 9, 2026
Long Lost African Bird Captured in Striking Photos
Black-lored waxbills recently photographed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<br>Manuel Weber / Upemba National Park
Lost to science for more than 70 years, the black-lored waxbill was only recently rediscovered in a marshy region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Now, researchers have published the first clear photographs of the bird ever taken in the wild.<br>The black-lored waxbill was first described by science in 1927, by an ornithologist named James Chapin, who was leading an expedition for the American Museum of Natural History. Chapin, who had come upon a flock of waxbills near the Lualaba River, noticed several features that distinguished these birds from common waxbills, such as their short bills, gray cheeks, and black eye patches. The birds were documented on three other occasions, the last of which was in 1950.<br>It was not until 2023 that black-lored waxbills were spotted again, this time by biologist Manuel Weber, then an intern with Upemba National Park. His photos, though fuzzy, confirmed the bird was still alive.
A black-lored waxbill photographed in November.<br>Manuel Weber / Upemba National Park
In November, Weber hunted down the birds once more, producing the first sharp photos of wild black-lored waxbills.<br>Upemba National Park shared the new photos just weeks after suffering a shocking and deadly attack by an armed militia. On March 3, as many as 80 fighters armed with machetes, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades descended on park headquarters, looting weapons and munitions, The Guardian reported. Seven people were killed in the attack, including a 28-year-old veterinarian.<br>Officials warn that some armed groups have taken refuge in the park, where they earn money from poaching. “Most of the park’s large animals have been slaughtered,” Weber said. “Poaching continues, endangering the endemic Upemba lechwe, a few buffalo, the only zebras of the [Democratic Republic of the Congo], and the only pure savanna elephants of the country.”<br>Scientists say that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has more lost birds than almost any other region on Earth. The mounting pressures on wildlife have added urgency to efforts to find and document rare animals.<br>ALSO ON YALE E360<br>Humans Are Changing How Nature Smells, With Risks for Wildlife
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