A breeding site of the large-billed reed warbler Acrocephalus orinus, was discovered in the Wakhan Corridor of the Pamir of north-eastern Afghanistan by Researcher Robert Timmins of the Wildlife Conservation Society who was studying avian communities in the Pamir Mountains. He came across a small brown warbler and recorded its song. Dr. Timmins did not realize the importance of his discovery until he visited a Natural History Museum in Tring, England. There he examined a specimen of a large-billed reed warbler, which looked identical to the bird he had seen and recorded.