Alternative names: Rufous-winged Tit-Babbler; Chestnut-headed Fulvetta; Chestnut-headed Tit-Babbler
- Schoeniparus castaneceps
Identification
10 - 13cm. A very small olive-brown and whitish babbler:
- Chestnut crown with pale buff shaft streaks
- Long whitish supercilium above blackish eye-stripe and whisker-mark
- Rufous wings with blackish greater and primary coverts
- Olive-brown upperparts, breast-sides and flanks
- Tail dark brown
Sexes similar. Juveniles hav a less distinct shaft-streaking to crown and a more rufescent tinge overall.
Distribution
Found from Nepal east over Bhutan to northeast India, Burma, adjacent south China (Yunnan to Guangxi), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and peninsular Malaysia.
Fairly common in most of its range.
Taxonomy
Black-crowned Fulvetta has been included in this species in the past.
Formerly placed in genus Alcippe or in Pseudominla.
Subspecies
Four subspecies accepted[1]:
- S. c. castaneceps from Nepal to Bhutan, northeast India, adjacent Tibet, Burma and northwest and west Thailand
- S. c. exul in north Thailand, Laos, north Vietnam and south China (Yunnan to Guangxi)
- S. c. stepanyani in southeast Laos and central Vietnam
- S. c. soror in peninsular Malaysia
Habitat
Broadleaf evergreen forest, secondary forest, bamboo, forest edges and abandoned cultivations. In India found at 300 - 3600m, 900 - 2750m in China, breeds above 1000m in southeast Asia.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects, sometimes tree-sap.
Usually seen in large groups of 20 to 40 birds. These flocks move very quickly and may contain other species as well. Forages on moss-covered trunks like a nuthatch.
Breeding
Breeding season January to June in southeast Asia, April to June in the Indian Subcontinent. The nest is a dome made of green moss, dry bamboo and other leaves. It's placed 1 - 3m above the ground amon moss or creepers on a tree trunk, in a bush, a sapling or a moss or fern-covered bank. Lays 3 - 4 eggs.
Movements
Resient species.
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/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
- Rasmussen, PC and JC Anderton. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334672
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rufous-winged Fulvetta. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous-winged_Fulvetta
External Links
Search for scientific name Schoeniparus castaneceps:
Search for scientific name Alcippe castaneceps:
Search for scientific name Pseudominla castaneceps
