The Santa Marta sabrewing.
(Photo: Yurgen Vega/SELVA/ProCAT)
Some animal species get lost.
This can be due to time, or to the vast expanses of their remote habitats.
The Santa Marta sabrewing. (Photo: Yurgen Vega/SELVA/ProCAT)
Hopeful humans may search high and low hoping to catch a glimpse of the precious creatures.
For decades, the Santa Marta sabrewing has been a bird-watching holy grailthe quintessential lost bird.
But a new sighting by local bird watcher Yurgen Vega has produced stunning images of the magnificent creature.
Photo: Yurgen Vega/SELVA/ProCAT
Vega was birding and researching local species in the mountains of Colombia when he turned to leave.
Thankfully he spotted a Santa Marta sabrewing sitting on a nearby branch.
The bird briefly posed for Vega’s camera, allowing him to get an incredibly rare shot.
The male bird had distinctive emerald-green feathers, a curved black bill, and an iridescent blue neck.
Researchers believe the birds are critically endangered.
Industrial activity is a huge threat to the bird’s habitats, as with many other species.
There are more than a hundred species of birds around the world that are currently lost.
Hopefully by working together we can find them all.
