From Opus
Photo by
James EatonDangstan Wetlands, Chong Ming Island, Shanghai,
China, May 2008
Alternative names: Heude's Parrotbill; Chinese Parrotbill; Chinese Crowtit; Yangtze Parrotbill (heudei); Northern Parrotbill (polivanovi)
- Paradoxornis heudei
[edit] Identification
18 - 20cm. The only parrotbill with seasonal differences in plumage.
- Breeding:
- Crown to upper mantle plain slate grey
- Black lateral crownstripe from above eye to nape side
- Lower mantle to back dark chestnut
- Lower breast dark chestnut, lower flanks chestnut-tinged
- White eyering, whitish cheek to supercilium and throat side
- Yellow bill
- Non-breeding:
- Broadly streaked forehead and crown centre to nape with pinkish-cream and ash-grey
- Broad lateral crownstripe streaked black and rather warm brown
- Pale pinkish-cream ear-coverts
Sexes similar, juveniles are duller than adults.
[edit] Distribution
Northeast China, extreme east Mongolia, and extreme southeast Russia (Lake Khanka region, Ussuriland).
Locally common.
[edit] Taxonomy
Two subspecies recognized:
- P. h. polivanovi in extreme east Mongolia; China (Nei Mongol, Heilongjiang) and extreme southeast Russia (Lake Khanka region, Ussuriland)
- P. h. heudei in China (Shandong south to Zhejiang and inland in Yangtze river system to north Jiangxi
Populations in Hebei and Liaoning are not yet assigned to subspecies.
[edit] Habitat
Found in lowland reedbeds, up to 800m in Mongolia.
[edit] Behaviour
Feeds on insects.
Usually seen moving through reedbeds in groups of 5 to 15 birds, sometimes more. During breeding season in pairs.
Breeding season from May to August. The nest is a beautiful cup-shaped structure made of strips of dead reed sheats. It's placed around 1.5m above the ground, among reeds and supported by two reed stems (like the one of Eurasian Reed-Warbler). Lays 2-5 eggs.
Resient species.
[edit] References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
[edit] External Links
Welcome to BirdForum.
