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# Clements James F. 2007. ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World''. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019 | # Clements James F. 2007. ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World''. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019 | ||
# Rasmussen, P. C. and Anderton, J. C. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Washington and Barcelona. Smithsonian Institute and Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-67-9 | # Rasmussen, P. C. and Anderton, J. C. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Washington and Barcelona. Smithsonian Institute and Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-67-9 | ||
| + | #[http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=2908591 Birdforum thread] discussing presence in Europe (post 36 and those following) | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
{{GSearch|Leiothrix+lutea}} | {{GSearch|Leiothrix+lutea}} | ||
[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Leiothrix]] | [[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Leiothrix]] | ||
Revision as of 14:37, 15 January 2014
Alternative names: Pekin Robin; Peking Robin; Red-billed Mesia
- Leiothrix lutea
Identification
A small (14 - 15cm), compact and unmistakable Babbler3:
- Mostly greyish-olive
- Red bill with dark base
- Pale face and lores
- Yellow throat
- Notched black tail with flared tips
Distribution
Found in the Himalayas, N Burma, N Vietnam and S, SC and E China.
Common in parts of its range, but scarce and declining in others due to heavy trading as cagebirds.
Introduced populations on the Hawaiian Islands, where it exhibits dramatic and unexplained population fluctuations. There are small but thriving populations of escapees in Japan since the 1980s. Furthermore small populations got established in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and on Reunion Island.1
Taxonomy
Clements2 accepts six subspecies:
- L. l. kumaiensis in the NW Himalayas (NE Pakistan to N India)
- L. l. calipyga Himalayas from W Nepal over Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam to adjacent SE Tibet
- L. l. luteola from S Assam to SW Burma
- L. l. yunnanensis from NE Burma to S China (Yunnan)
- L. l. kwangtungensis in S and SE China (SE Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan and Guangdong) and N Vietnam
- L. l. lutea in SC and E China (Gansu, Shaanxi, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi)
The Handbook of the World1 however doesn't accept luteola and includes it in calipyga. Furthermore the Doubtful Leiothrix L. (l.) astleyi, known from a pair of birds shipped from S China is now considered to represent mutated cagebirds.
Habitat
Undergrowth of open broadleaf forest, mixed forest, forest edge, secondary growth, scurb, tea plantations, abandoned cultivation. Primarly between 900 and 2400m.1
Behaviour
Feeds on insects but takes also berries and fruit.
During the breeding season in pairs, outside in groups of 4 - 6 individuals (bigger groups possible), often associating with other species in birdwaves.
Breeding season generally from April to October, varying through range. The nest is an oval cup, built by the female with grasses, dead bamboo and other leaves. It's placed in bush or bamboo, close to the ground (0.6 to 1.5m). Lays 3 - 5 eggs, the incubation period is 11 - 14 days.
Resident species with some altitudinal movement in the Himalayas.1
References
- del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Christie, D.A. eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-96553-42-6
- Clements James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
- Rasmussen, P. C. and Anderton, J. C. 2005. Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Washington and Barcelona. Smithsonian Institute and Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-87334-67-9
- Birdforum thread discussing presence in Europe (post 36 and those following)
