Whodunit Wednesday: Philippe Verbelen and the new birds

It sounds like a band from the 1960’s. Philippe Verbelen is an ornithologist from Belgium, although he is most often in far away places. He has already discovered 7 new species of birds. Verbelen, an ornithologist from from Ghent, has made his most recent discovery in Indonesia where he says there are many more species to be found. 

The “dwarf honey-eater” is a small bird with a red head and black body which is found on the island of Babar. Verbelen first found the bird in 2009, but it has only recently (March 2025) been officially recognized in the scientific world. While there seem to be various types of dwarf honey-eaters in Indonesia, this one can only be found on the island of Babar. 

Verbelen is one of the scientists who realized that the differences in species lay mainly in their song. The dwarf honey-eaters were on many of the Indonesian islands and scientists simply assumed they were all the same bird. But Verbelen has paid more attention to their song and has access now to DNA. 

The birds use their songs to call mates and scare away competition. If the birds react to the song, then they are members of the same group. But they can also simply ignore the song, indicating that it is a different species. So the Tanimbar dwarf honey-eater will pay no attention to the Babe dwarf honey-eater, and vice-versa. 

Verbelen had actually not been looking for this bird. He was only on the island for a week looking into unknown types of owls. He was taking recordings of those birds in the evenings and filled his days by recording the dwarf honey-eaters during the day when he realized his discovery. 

Verbelen also discovered the Rinjani dwarf ear owl and the Peleng forest singer. He has been visiting Indonesia since 1992 and continues to enjoy the many things he can see, hear and experience there. Besides his discovering of species, he uses his knowledge to support the protection of (rain)forests. 

Where oh Where Wednesday - Colonies of Belgium and Netherlands

Last week we talked about colonization. The Dutch were busy early on - during the Golden Age. Although we might not always recognize it, we run into remnants of that time and expansion in many places. Hoboken, Harlem, Bushwick and Flushing in New York (which was first New Amsterdam) are good examples. But Australia was also first known as Newe Holland and New Zealand is very clearly from the Dutch “Nieuw Zeeland”. 

But names are not colonies. As mentioned the Dutch colonized in many places around the world due to their commerce and trade. Indonesia was a major colony in Asia. In the new world, the Dutch colonized Surinam (the north of South America) and several Caribbean Islands. 

Indonesia fought for their independence. Surinam became independent but is still dependent in many ways. The Caribbean islands - Aruba, Saint Martin and Curaçao were all part of the kingdom of the Netherlands until most recently when Curacao became its own country. 

In the Netherlands you can still feel the influence of these times in some of the food and peoples in the country. When Indonesia fought for freedom, some Indonesians fought with the Dutch and had to flee to the Netherlands. They brought their culture with them. The Dutch enjoy Indonesian meals and have made them their own - a bit like Americans have assimilated Mexican meals into “American” culture. Loempia, spicy sambal and rice (including a "rice table") are all considered very Dutch any more. As well as a good “cup of Java” (Java is in Indonesia) - coffee. 

Food from the Antilles has also been popular, although perhaps less of a recognized cuisine. Most recently the Dutch have had to deal with various parts of their history colliding when “zwarte Piet”, the black helper of Saint Nicholas, was taken more and more as a symbol of racism by Dutch people of Surinam or Caribbean heritage. “Black Pete” has been around for hundreds of years. But is it appropriate? That is the question some are still dealing with. 

On the Belgian side, it was all about Congo in deep dark Africa. Although the Belgians did not truly bring any of the African cuisine with them to the “home country”, they did bring chocolate. And, like in the Netherlands, there are some, though far fewer, who have raised questions about “Zwartte Piet” who is also part of the Belgian Christmas tradition. 

In the area we work - the south of the Netherlands and East of Belgium - we do not have as much contact with people of color as one might have in the large cities of Rotterdam or Brussels, for example. But these days our world is a global place. The congregation in Maastricht has members of all colors and backgrounds. Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, Curaçao, Ecuador, Germany, Netherlands, Nigeria, Ukraine and the United States (with its diversity) are all represented. God’s family is amazing!