New
species to science:
In 1996 while studying the influence of forest structure on bird
communities of elfin forests, he discovered a new species of Brush-Finch
which he described with Jon Fjeldsa in
Ibis.
(Valqui T. & J. Fjeldsa (1999) A new species of Brush-Finch
(Atlapetes) for central Perú. Ibis. Vol.141. No.2. April
1999.)
While doing consultant work in central Peru he found an undescribed
species of Twistwing that was only know from one specimen, made
the first recordings for the bird and is co-authoring a paper
on it’s description which should come out this year.
(Daniel F. Lane, Grace P. Servat, Thomas Valqui, Frank R. Lambert.
No longer a monotypic genus: A new species of Cnipodectes (passeriformes,
tyrannidae) from Southeastern Peru)
New records for the country:
In 1992 on a trip with CDC he found a lowland population of the
Stripe-chested Antwren which is probably a new subspecies and
made the first record and recordings of Gray-chested Greenlet
for Peru.
(Begazo A., T.Valqui. 1998. Birds of Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
with a new population (Myrmotherula longicauda) and new record
for Perú (Hylophilus semicinereus). Bull. B.O.C. 118 (3):
159-166)
In 1998 on a birding trip he found and took pictures of the Bare-necked
Tiger-Heron a species not accounted for in Peru. He published
a paper of this discovery with Barry Walker in "Cotinga".
(Valqui, T. and B. Walker (2002). “Importance of mangrove
forests in Peru with notes on Bare-throated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma
mexicanum) and Rufous-necked Wood-rail (Aramides axillaris).”
Cotinga 18: 58-60.)
New subspecies:
In 1998 he provided fundamental information for the description
of a new subspecies, which he coauthored with other scientists.
(Isler M.L., Alvarez J., Isler R I, Valqui T., Begazo A., Whitney
B. M. (2002) Rediscovery of a cryptic species and description
of a new subspecies in the Myrmeciza hemimelaena complex (Thamnophilidae)
of the Neotropics. The Auk 119 (2): 362-378)
Rediscoveries:
In 1998 he found the Royal Cinclodes in Bolivia which had not
been recorded there for almost a 100 years. He published the finding
in Cotinga.
(Valqui T. 2001. Rediscovery of the Royal Cinclodes (Cinclodes
aricomae) for Bolivia. Cotinga 2001)
The most important rediscovery of the last years, in 2001 in a
LSU expedition Thomas was the first to see the White-masked Antbird,
a species whose existence was already controversial, after it
had escaped scientists for more than 80 years.
(D. F. Lane, Valqui, T., Alvarez, J. In prep. “On the rediscovery
of the White -masked Antbird (Pithys castanea)
