HARROW: The Sichuan bush warbler had evaded researchers for countless years, but they finally spotted it using its distinctive song.
A group of researchers has made a remarkable finding: they’ve discovered a new bird with a very distinctive song in the midst of China.
Called the Sichuan bush warbler, it has evaded scientists by hiding in the grasses and shrubs in its habitat, however researchers were able to pick it out due to its distinctive song which gave it away.
One of the researchers, Pamela Rasmussen — who is a professor at Michigan State University — said according to media reports that the Sichuan bush warbler is a very secretive bird and a tough one to spot due to its habitat.
However, researchers heard a very different song from the creature, which began with a low-pitched buzz and then a short click that is repeated in a series.
It’s actually a fairly common bird to central China, and it isn’t under threat of extinction or even endangered, but its habitat has made it so difficult to spot. It is a close cousin to the Russen bush warbler.
The two warblers can actually be found on the same mountains, but the Sichuan bush warbler tends to stick to lower elevations.
The two species are very close together in terms of genetics, as well as sharing the same habitat. Analysis of their DNA shows that the species probably had a common ancestor just 850,000 years ago.
The bird was given a Latin name of Locustella chengi, which was meant to honor the late Chinese ornithologist Cheng Tso-hsin.
Cheng Tso-hsin is considered one of China’s greatest ornithologists. He was the founder of the Peking Natural History Museum and has penned 140 scientific papers and also authored 30 books. He was well-known internationally for his expertise in birds. Rasmussen said that while many species are named for European explorers and kings, she was happy that the bird bore the name of an Asian scientist, according to a statement from Michigan State University announcing the discovery.
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