Scientists have discovered a new species of bird with a distinctive orange-red coloured tuft of feathers on its head in Cambodia's populous capital city, according to AFP.
Scientists have discovered a new species of bird with a distinctiveorange-red coloured tuft of feathers on its head in Cambodia'spopulous capital city, according to AFP.
The remarkablediscovery of the Cambodian tailorbird, whose scientific name is“orthotomus chaktomuk”, in Phnom Penh and several other locationsincluding a construction site just outside of the city, has astoundedconservationists.
The small bird, which has a black-feathered throat and is the size of the more common wren, lives in thick, lowland scrub in Phnom Penh andother sites in the nearby floodplain, which the Wildlife ConversationSociety (WCS) said had kept it concealed for so long.
The bird was named after a Phnom Penh riverfront area "chaktomuk"- the conjunction of three rivers - where it was found.
Simon Mahood, an expert from the WCS, said that it is currently not athreatened species despite its habitat in the city of 1.5 millionpeople.
However, the WCS recommended that thespecies is classified as "Near Threatened" under the Red List of theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because the bird's"habitat is declining" due to agricultural and urban expansion.-VNA
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