- Saxicola ferreus
Identification
14–15 cm (5½-6 in)
Male
- Grey plumage
- Long white supercilium
- White throat and wing bar
Distribution
Asia: found from northern Pakistan through the Himalayan areas of northern India to southern Tibet, south-eastern China, Myanmar and northern Indochina
Taxonomy
Two subspecies recognized[1]:
- S. f. haringtoni breeds southeastern China (north to Gansu and Shaanxi east to Shanghai); winters to southern China and Indochina
- S. f. ferreus breeds in the Himalayas from northwestern Pakistan east to Myanmar, northwestern Thailand, north central Laos, and central Vietnam (southern Annam), and (probably this subspecies) in southern China (southeastern Xizang, western and southern Yunnan); in winter to northern India, southern Myanmar, and southern Indochina
Subspecies haringtoni was formerly included in Jerdon's Bushchat.
Habitat
Montane broad-leaved forests, and forest edges; gardens with shrubs and bushes and small trees. Observed in the Himalayas at heights around 2133 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of a wide variety of insects, including spiders, grasshoppers and beetles, with the occasional addition of seeds.
Vocalisation
Lovely sunset song, rendered by a male, perched atop a tree.
Recording by Alok Tewari
Dwarahat, Almora, Altitude 5000 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 29 October 2023.
Summer song by a male before day-break, 5.03 am; calls of Russet Sparrow and Asian Koel male are also heard in the recording.
Recording by Alok Tewari
Dwarahat, Almora, Altitude 5000 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 4 May 2024, 5.03 am.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2015)
- Birdforum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey Bushchat. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Bushchat
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
