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Himalayan Bluetail - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Himalayan Bush Robin; Himalayan Red-flanked Bush-robin

Male
Photo by Dave 2x
Doi Lang, Thailand, January 2015
Tarsiger rufilatus

Identification

Length 13–15 cm, weight 13-18 g.
Blue tail and reddish flanks.
Marginally larger than Red-flanked Bluetail (with some overlap), with the adult male having darker blue upperparts and whiter underparts; supercilium pale blue (not white in front of eye as in Red-flanked Bluetail).
Females are plain brown above and have a dusky breast.

Distribution

Female
Photo by Ayuwat J
Doi Lang, Chiangmai, Thailand

Breeds in the Himalayas from northeast Afghanistan through northern Pakistan, northwest India, Nepal to northeast India and southwest China. Winters from northeast India to Indochina.

Taxonomy

It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Red-flanked Bluetail.

Formerly included in either of the genera Erithacus or Luscinia[3].

Subspecies

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

  • T. r. pallidior: breeds in the west Himalayas from northwestern Pakistan to about central Nepal; primarily resident (although moving to lower elevations in winter)
  • T. r. rufilatus: breeds in the central and eastern Himalayas from about central Nepal east to southwestern China; primarily resident (although moving to lower elevations in winter), some migrating to northeastern India (Assam) and northern Myanmar

Habitat

High altitude coniferous forests, from 3,000-4,400 m; lower in winter.

Behaviour

Often seen flicking tail and wings.

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of insects, including beetles. They also eat berries and seeds.

Breeding

It nests near the ground, laying 3-5 eggs which are incubated by the female.

Movements

A short distance migrant or near-resident species; western populations migrate southeast to north-eastern India (Assam) and northern Myanmar, and all move to lower levels in winter.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  3. Dickinson, Edward C. (ed.). 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691117010
  4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2015)

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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