Emily Chan
The new species is named Oceanites barrosi, or the Andean storm petrel. It was named after ornithologist Rafael Barros Valenzuela.
He was the first to record storm petrels in Chile and became one of the most well-known ornithologists in Chile during the 20th century.
“We propose the name Andean storm petrel due to its unique breeding area. Although a nest has not yet been found, the Andean storm petrel is seen going in and out of high elevation areas during the breeding season, and many recently fledged juveniles have been found in elevations above the city of Santiago,” said the researchers.
The bird is small and fits into the palm of a hand. It is mostly blackish-brown in color with a white “band-shaped” patch on its back.
Previously, there were three known species in the genus Oceanites. However, Jaramillo and the research team suggest that they might actually be seven separate species.
Identifying the different species of storm petrel may be a challenge because they all look the same even though they are genetically distinct. Hopefully, future research can pinpoint their nesting areas so it’ll be easier to tell them apart.
