The Cozumel Thrasher (Toxostoma guttatum) is a bird endemic only on the island of Cozumel off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. It appears to have experienced a precipitous decline in numbers since 1988 after Hurricane Gilbert tore through the island. It immediately became rare, but small numbers of the bird were known to exist until it was last sighted in 1995. That same year, Hurricane Roxanne ripped through Cozumel and may have also contributed to the species' decline. Scientists estimate that as many as 10,000 once thrived on the island.

The bird, not seen or recorded by scientists for close to a decade and thought by some to have gone extinct, was sighted last month by a team of field biologists who immediately shot it. Dr. George Wallace, vice president for International Programs at American Bird Conservancy is quoted as saying

It was important to record the sighting and it was the only way we could prove it was not extinct .... up until now

oooh put away that indignation, I was only joking about the "shooting it" bit and, ah, that is a picture of turkey hen, but it might as well have been a Cozumel Thrasher for all you know (and me for that matter).

Anyway everyone is very happy to have sighted it and I am sure it will make an excellent meal for a boa constrictor. Boas were introduced onto the island in 1971 and have spent the last 30 years consuming most of the bird's relatives.

Read more here.