New bird sub-species found in eastern Nepal

Feb 5, 2008, 4:23 GMT

Kathmandu - A team of Nepalese ornithologists has discovered a new sub-species of bird in eastern Nepal, media reports said Tuesday.

The bird, named Nepal Rofus-vented Prinia (Prinia burnesii nipalensis), was first spotted in a wildlife reserve in eastern Nepal two years ago but was deemed to be a new sub-species after research, the English language daily Kathmandu Post reported.

The bird was discovered by a group of conservationists at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, about 400 kilometres south-east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

'After more than two years of research on the taxonomic status of the bird, the experts concluded that it is a new bird sub-species and currently found only in Nepal,' the newspaper quoted Hem Sagar Baral, executive director of Bird Conservation Nepal, as saying.

The newly found sub-species appears to be different from other two sub-species of Rofus-vented Prinia found in Pakistan and Assam in India.

'The new bird found in Nepal has lighter under-tail coverts and finely streaked head and back and has much darker grey shade on the body,' Baral said.

Conservationists involved in the research say though the bird is a resident breeding species, due to habitat loss and degradation, it has been listed as critically endangered.