A new species of bird has been discovered in China.

Sichuan bush warbler is the new bird discovered by the researchers, this bird sings a distinctive song which helped in its discovery.

The Latin name of the bird is Locustella chengi.

Pamela Ramussen, of Michigan State University and from the Natural History Museum at Tring, UK and co-author of the study said, “The Sichuan bush warbler is exceedingly secretive and difficult to spot as its preferred habitat is dense brush and tea plantations. 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 common in central China, and its population is in good numbers and not in danger of extinction as the bird is comfortably living in the region and there are no worries about its future.

The researchers wrote in paper, “We are pleased to name Locustella chengi after the late Professor Cheng Tso-hsin (1906–1998) in recognition of his unparalleled contributions to Chinese ornithology, of which his monumental work A Synopsis of the Avifauna of China is the most widely known outside of China.”

The bird is the closet cousin to Russet bush warbler; both of them are found on mountains.

Sichuan bush warbler resides in lower mountains.

The genetics of the two warblers are very close. Mitochondrial DNA analysis was performed by the researchers and they found that they are very closely related and estimated to have common ancestors around 850,000 years ago.

Pamela said, “We wanted to honor Prof Cheng Tso-hsin for his unparalleled contributions to Chinese ornithology. Many species are named for European explorers and monarchs but few bear the names of Asian scientists.”

It was an international research team who discovered the bird; including the scientists from China, United States, Sweden, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

The findings are published in journal Avian Research.