Alternative name: Himalayan Treepie
- Dendrocitta formosae
Identification
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dist. Nainital, Alt. 4800 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 16 October 2015
36 - 40cm. A drab brownish-grey treepie.
- Grey nape and underparts
- Long black tail
- Rufous vent
- Brown mantle
- Black wings with a white patch
- Black bill and grey feet
- Brown iris
Sexes similar. Juveniles are more uniformely grey-brown.
Distribution
From the Himalayas of Pakistan east over India, Nepal, Bhutan to Burma, south China and northern Indochina to Taiwan.
Generally common and widespread.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Eight subspecies accepted[1]:
- D. f. occidentalis from Pakistan along the Himalayas to northwest India and west Nepal
- D. f. himalayana from central Nepal east to northeast India, Bhutan, northern Burma to south China (Yunnan), northwest Thailand, Laos and north Vietnam
- D. f. sarkari in the eastern Ghats (Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, India)
- D. f. assimilis from southern Myanmar to Thailand
- D. f. sapiens in central China (Sichuan)
- D. f. sinica in east and southeast China and adjacent extrem northern Vietnam
- D. f. formosae on Taiwan
- D. f. insulae on Hainan
Habitat
Deciduous montane woodland. Prefers open forest. Found between 800 and 2300m in the Himalayas, down to 550m in China.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on invertebrates, their larvae, lizards, small birds, eggs and nestlings. Takes also fruits and seeds and nectar from flowering trees. Often around villages scavenging for kitchen waste.
Usually seen in pairs or small groups. Also often in bird waves, eg with Laughingthrushes.
Breeding
Breeds from April to July but times vary locally according to rains. The nest is a small, flimsy cup made of sticks and placed some 2 - 6m above the ground in a small tree, bamboo stand or shrub. Lays 3 - 5 eggs.
Movements
A sedentary species.
Vocalisation
Recording © by Alok Tewari
One individual sitting in canopy, called and flew away.
Ranikhet Hill Station, Alt. 6800 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, April-2018.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Grey Treepie. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey_Treepie
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
