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(Image: Agus Nurza)

Arise the Javan blue-banded kingfisher: a species at last. Henceforth it won’t be confused with the Malay blue-banded kingfisher. But it is also critically endangered.

It’s not always obvious whether two animals belong to different species, or are simply two variants of the same species. But the more we learn, the more species are declared. , on behalf of the (IUCN), has now identified 361 new bird species. They are all non-passerines, meaning they aren’t songbirds. The study boosts the number of non-passerines by 10 per cent.

Other upgraded birds include the from Brazil, formerly masquerading as the , and the from the Atlantic island of Madeira, now distinguished from Fea’s petrel. Both have instantly been put on the IUCN’s .

Altogether, BirdLife International says .

It may already be too late for the , a Colombian hummingbird. It is one of four bearded helmetcrests, distinguished by their beard plumage. But it hasn’t been seen alive for 70 years.

The new count further highlights that bird diversity is focused in a few hotspots. South-East Asia is now an even more important bird habitat than before, in particular several islands in northern Indonesia, including Talaud and Sangihe, and Cebu in the Philippines.