New Species of Jewel-Babbler Bird Discovered in Papua New Guinea

Jakarta – The world of science has been amazed again by the revelation of a new species of jeweled warbler. Scientists have succeeded in discovering a new bird species in Papua new Guinea through photos captured by camera traps in the Karst forest, Southern Fold mountains.

This species is a group of jewel-babbler birds which are notoriously difficult too observe in the wild. This bird belongs to the genus Ptilorrhoa, which is a small bird from the Cinclosomatidae family that lives in forests. In Papua New Guinea and several surrounding islands, this animal is endemic.

This discovery was contained in a study entitled “A new species of jewel-babbler (Cinclosomatidae: Ptilorrhoa) from the Southern Fold Mountains of Papua New Guinea”, which was published on November 26, 2025, in the journal Ibis.

Jewel-babbler Bird Characteristics

An ornithologist from the Australian Museum Research Institute, Lain Woxvold and his team said that jewel-babblers are a group of passerine birds that eat insects.

The birds had fat bodies with short wings, and their faces looked like they were wearing black masks. On the throat or cheeks there are white spots, and soft hairs. The majority of the species’ feathers are patterned blue or reddish brown.

“They are loud, but shy birds, living in the interior of the forest, more often heard than seen,” said Woxvold, quoted from Sci.news on December 23, 2025.

Four Types of Jewel-babbler Species

In previous studies, researchers have found four recognized species. Three of them inhabit most of Papua New Guinea, but are separated by altitude.

First, jewel-babbler blue jewel or Ptilorrhoa ceruleuscens who live in the lowlands. Second there is the brown back jewel-babbler or Ptilorrhoa castanonota it inhabits hilly areas and low mountains. The third is jewel-babbler speckled jewel or Ptilorrhoa leucosticta they live in mountain forest areas.

Next there is the brown-headed or jewel-babbler species Ptilorrhoa geislerorum.