The Cambodian leaf-sewing warbler (scientific name: Orthotomus chaktomuk, Cambodian Tailorbird) is a new bird species newly discovered in Cambodia, surprisingly, it is found not in the inaccessible deep mountain forests, but on the outskirts of the metropolis.
The Cambodian leaf-sewing warbler is the second important Cambodian-related discovery announced this month. Last week, Australian archaeologists said they had confirmed the existence of a city that was now lost in the jungle and belonged to the same era as the remains of Angkor Wat. Scientists used lasers projected from helicopters to discover a network of canals and roads.
The discovery of the Cambodian Tailorbird
BANGKOK — The discovery of new species is always reminiscent of images of explorers like Livingstone trudging through the malaria-ravaged jungle. However, some scientists doing research in Cambodia have reported that they have discovered a new bird in a place that is definitely not a remote place: the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Simon Mahood, lead author of an article published Wednesday by The Oriental Bird Club's magazine Forktail, said the bird's main habitat was only about a 30-minute drive from his home in Phnom Penh, "counting the traffic jams."
Mahud works at the Wildlife Conservation Society of Cambodia. He said by phone in Phnom Penh, "I always wanted to discover a new bird, but I never imagined that the discovery process would be like this." I certainly didn't expect that when I found it, I would be only half an hour from home, wearing slippers and shorts. ”
The bird is roughly the size of the wren, with white cheeks and a light brown crown, and the team that recorded the discovery named it the Cambodian seam-leaf warbler. So named after the way they nest, they sew their leaves together with spider silk or other fibers to make a cradle-like nest.
Even globally, there are probably only six or seven species of newly discovered birds each year. This time, the finders attribute their harvest to a sort of peace dividend that ornithology enjoys in Cambodia: After decades of conflict in Cambodia, scientists are now able to concentrate on studying the country's natural diversity and no longer face the danger and distractions of war.
Mahud said there are 12 other species of leaf warblers in the world, but the Cambodian leaf warbler is very different from other leaf warblers in terms of feathers and genetic composition. The Latin scientific name of the Cambodian seamosaur announced Wednesday is Orthotomus chaktomuk.
With regard to the Cambodian leaf warbler, the first recorded capture was purely accidental. In 2009, while studying whether bird flu could spread through small birds, researchers captured, photographed, and released a Cambodian leaf-sewing warbler unaware it was a new species. Mahud became curious about those photographs and the photographs that followed them, and began the research that led to the new discoveries.