Grey-breasted Prinia - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies P. h. hodgsonii
Photo by Jugal Tiwari
Moti Virani, Kutch, Gujarat, India, 27 June 2009

Prinia hodgsonii

Identification

11 cm (4 in)

• Greyish and white plumage
• Longish and graduated tail
• Small thin bill

Distribution

Subspecies P. h. rufula
Photo by Alok Tewari
Rishikesh, Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 31 August 2017

Asia: found in China, Tibet, Nepal
South Asia: Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. Bhutan
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand

Taxonomy

Previously known as Franklin's Prinia

Subspecies

Subspecies P. h. leggei
Photo by DaveT
Udawalawe, Sri Lanka, March 2010

There are 6 subspecies^[1]:

• P. h. rufula:

• Kashmir to Assam, south-western China (north-western Yunnan) and northern Myanmar

• P. h. hodgsonii:

• India to western Myanmar

• P. h. albogularis:

• South-western peninsular India (Eastern Ghats to southern Mysore and Kerala)

• P. h. leggei:

• Sri Lanka

• P. h. erro :

• Eastern Myanmar (Shan States) to Thailand and southern Indochina

• P. h. confusa:

• Southern China (southern Sichuan and western Yunnan) to north-eastern Laos and northern Vietnam

Habitat

Scrub and grass jungle, undergrowth in deciduous forest, mangrove swamps, reed-beds, forest edge scrub, agricultural fields and Banni grassland. Observed at heights around around 5000 ft above sea level.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of insects, such as small beetles, moths, caterpillars and grasshoppers.

Subspecies P. h. erro
Photo by Ayuwat J
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Vocalisation

Recording by Alok Tewari
Dwarahat, Almora, Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, April-2011
Call at day-break by one individual, on a perch close to a busy road. Alt. 5000 ft above MSL

Gallery

Click images to see larger version

• 

  Ssp. rufula, non-breeding
  Photo by Alok Tewari
  Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, 18 Oct 2015

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2015)
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Grey-breasted Prinia. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey-breasted_Prinia

External Links

Search for photos of Grey-breasted Prinia in the gallery

Search for videos of Grey-breasted Prinia in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1