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.
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