Photo by Doroudi (Tormtay) Houman Doroudi (Tormtay)
Tehran, Iran, October 2017
- Prunella atrogularis
Identification
15 cm (6 in)
Breeding
- Streaked dark brown back
- Black crown, face patch and throat
- White supercilium
- Orange breast
- White belly with orange stripes
- Fine pointed bill
Sexes are similar
Winter birds and Juveniles do not show so much contrast; the dark throat may be hardly visible in young birds.
Similar Species
Slightly larger than Siberian Accentor which lacks the black throat and bib and has a less streaky back.
Distribution
Europe and Asia
Eastern Europe: Finland, Israel, Iran
Asia: Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Western Himalayas
A rare vagrant to western Europe.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- P. a. atrogularis:
- Northern Ural Mountains; winters to Afghanistan and Iran
- P. a. huttoni:
- Russian Altai (Dzhungarski Mountains); winters to Pakistan, north-eastern India
Habitat
Summer habitat they seem to prefer low, thick, thorny scrub amongst low-growing spruce.
They winter in scrub and cultivated areas
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of insects and arthropods, with worms and snails. In winter they add seeds.
Breeding
They build a neat nest low in spruce thickets. The clutch consists of 3-5 unspotted blue eggs.
There are usually two broods each year, sometimes three.
Vocalisation
Call: a fine ti-ti-ti.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition ISBN 0 00 219900 9
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Feb 2018)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-throated Accentor. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-throated_Accentor
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
