New Species of Elusive, Warbling Bird Discovered in China

Scientists have discovered an elusive new bird in China with the help of its distinctive song. The new bird, called the Sichuan bush warbler, likes to hide in grassy, scrubby vegetation.

"The Sichuan bush warbler is exceedingly secretive and difficult to spot as its preferred habitat is dense brush and tea plantations," said Pamela Rasmussen, one of the researchers, in a news release. "However, it distinguishes itself thanks to its distinctive song that consists of a low-pitched drawn-out buzz, followed by a shorter click repeated in series."

The bird is elusive, but it's common to China and doesn't appear to be under any immediate threat. The Sichuan bush warbler prefers to live at lower elevations, and breeds up to 7,500 feet.

The bird is actually closely related to the Russet bush warbler, and shares similar genetics. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA shows that the warbler species are closely related and are estimated to have a common ancestor about 850,000 years ago.

The new bird's Latin name, Locustella chengi, honors the late Cheng Tso-hsin, China's greatest ornithologist.

The newly discovered bird shows that species are still being found every day. Further research will be needed to learn a bit more about this elusive bird.

The findings are published in the journal Avian Research.

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