Pink-billed Parrotfinch

Birds > Finches

The Pink-billed Parrotfinch (Erythrura kleinschmidti) is one of the rarest, most enigmatic, and morphologically distinct passerines in the South Pacific. Found exclusively within the remaining primary cloud forests of Viti Levu, the largest island in the Fijian...

Rainforest Nursery Frog

Amphibians > Microhylid Frogs

The Rainforest Nursery Frog (Cophixalus riparius) is a fascinating montane amphibian endemic to the cloud-draped mountain spine of New Guinea. As one of the largest members of the microhylid genus Cophixalus, this species has completely abandoned the traditional...

Chercher Mountain Brush-furred Rat

Mammals > Rodentia

The Chercher Mountain Brush-furred Rat (Lophuromys chercherensis) is a rare and ecologically distinct rodent restricted to the mist-shrouded montane forests of the Chercher Mountain range in eastern Ethiopia. Belonging to a specialized African lineage noted for stiff,...

Cinnabar Boobook

Birds > Owls

The Cinnabar Boobook (Ninox ios), also known as the cinnabar hawk-owl, is an enigmatic, small strigid raptor endemic to the rugged mountain cloud forests of Sulawesi, Indonesia. First discovered in 1999 in Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, this nocturnal bird...

Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew

Mammals > Shrews

The Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella quadraticauda) is a stout, burrowing insectivorous mammal native to the misty montane ranges of southwestern China. Inhabiting the high-altitude cloud forests and bamboo zones of the Hengduan Mountains—the same rugged...