A bird that was long thought to have gone extinct has been rediscovered in Burma after a team of scientists used a recording of the species ' distinctive call to track it down . The Jerdon 's Babbler ( chrysomma altirostre altirostre ) - a small brown bird similar in size to a house sparrow - was last spotted in Myanmar in 1941 and was thought to have died out altogether . But a team of scientists managed to uncover multiple birds nesting in a small area of grassland in Myanmar 's central Bago region in May last year , according to their report published in the latest edition of Birding Asia . Re-discovered : The Jerdon 's Babbler which was thought extinct for 73 years until scientists found evidence of it living in Burma . The scientists targeted some of the few remaining patches of wild grassland left along Myanmar 's mighty Irrawaddy river , now one of the most heavily cultivated and densely populated regions of the impoverished but emerging southeast Asian nation . At one small patch of grassland near an abandoned agricultural station , the team heard what they thought could be the babbler 's call . They then used a recording of a Jerdon 's Babbler from the Indian subcontinent to see if the bird would show itself . Frank Rheindt , from the National University of Singapore , told AFP he was the first person to spot the bird during the survey , which was also carried out with members of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Myanmar 's Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division . 'It was unbelievable , ' he recalled . 'We played the sound recordings and one of the birds came up from the reed beds . Like many song birds in reed beds you hardly ever see them , they only come out to defend their territory when they hear a territorial call . ' Further searches over the next two days uncovered more birds allowing researchers to obtain blood samples and photographs . But researchers warned that the bird 's survival is still far from guaranteed given pressure on Myanmar 's few remaining grasslands . 'This discovery not only proves that the species still exists in Myanmar but that the habitat can still be found as well , ' Colin Poole , director of Wildlife Conservation Society 's regional hub in Singapore , said in a statement . 'Future work is needed to identify remaining pockets of natural grassland and develop systems for local communities to conserve and benefit from them , ' he added . Birds fly over the Moe Yun Gyi Wetlands in Bago Division , Myanmar , where Jerdon 's Babbler was re-discovered 73 years after it was believed to be extinct . Rheindt said the area of grassland where the bird was found was very small , 'around 50-80 hectares ' and that new chicken and fish farms were being built nearby . He added that its plumage and song were significantly different to how it had been described by ornithologists in the early twentieth century - leading the team to suspect that it may differ from threatened populations found in Nepal , India and Pakistan . His team now hope to conduct DNA tests to decide if it is a separate species . Burma 's quasi-civilian government replaced decades of brutal military rule in 2011 . It has since embarked on a series of political reforms and shown itself to be far more open to foreign businesses and academic researchers than the country 's generals were . Burma has more species of bird than any other country in mainland Southeast Asia , with ornithologists saying this number is could increase if more scientific research is conducted .
Was last spotted in Burma in 1941 , and was thought to have died out . Scientists used a recording of its distinctive call to rediscover species . Discovery proves bird and habitat both still exist in Myanmar .