A rare bald songbird has been found in a remote area of Laos, the first bird of its kind found in Asia in more than 100 years.

Dubbed the "Bare-faced Bulbul," the thrush-sized bird has no feathers on its face and part of its head. It is greenish-olive with a light-colored breast, while the bird's face is pink with bluish skin around its eyes.

The discovery was made by scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Melbourne. The project was funded by the Minerals and Metals Group, a mining company that operates the Sepon copper and gold mine in the region where the bird was found.

The "rather inhospitable" locale was responsible for the bird remaining unknown for such a long period, said Iain Woxvold of the University of Melbourne. Part of the bird's habitat falls within a legally protected area of Laos.

Other previously unknown species have been found in the area, a place of sparse forests on rugged limestone karsts. In 1999, a WCS explorer, Rob Timmins, described a unique striped rabbit. In 2002, Timmins discovered a kha-nyou, a rodent that was the lone member of an otherwise extinct group.

WCS owns and operates the Bronx Zoo and several other U.S. zoos.