New species found in 'surprising place'

A new species of bird with a distinctive orange-red coloured tuft of feathers on its head has been found in Cambodia's populous capital city, conservationists said on Wednesday.

The remarkable discovery of the Cambodian tailorbird, or orthotomus chaktomuk, in Phnom Penh -- and several other locations including a construction site just outside of the city of 1.5 million people -- has astounded conservationists.

"The modern discovery of an undescribed bird species within the limits of a large populous city... is extraordinary," Simon Mahood of the Wildlife Conversation Society told AFP.

"It's very surprising," he added.