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Beautiful Sibia - BirdForum Opus

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Photo by Ayuwat J
Lama Camp, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Heterophasia pulchella

Identification

At 23cm a typical Sibia1:

  • Blue-grey with black face
  • Black wing coverts and brown tertials on blue-grey wings
  • Brown tail with broad black subterminal band and grey tip.

Darker than Grey Sibia, but wings are paler and crown and mantle have the same blue-grey colour.
Juveniles are brown-tinged, but similar to adults.

Variation

nigroaurita has black cheeks.

Distribution

Found in the eastern Himalayas in north-eastern India (Arunachal Pradesh), adjacent south-eastern Tibet, Nagaland (India), northern Myanmar and southern China (Yunnan).
Restricted-range species, common in parts of its Indian range, found in Mouling National Park and Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. Uncommon in Myanmar and China.1

Taxonomy

The Handbook of the Birds of the World places this species in the genus Malacias. The scientific names is then spelled Malacias pulchellus3

Subspecies

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

  • H. p. nigroaurita in north-eastern India (most of Arunachal Pradesh) and adjacent southern China (south-eastern Tibet)
  • H. p. pulchella from north-eastern India (eastern Arunachal Pradesh south to Nagaland), to northern Myanmar , and southern China (western and northwestern Yunnan)

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest. Found between 1650m and 3000m, occasionally higher. Down to 300m in harsh winters.1

Behaviour

Found in pairs or small groups, occasionally bigger groups of up to 25 birds. Also in birdwaves with other Babblers.

Diet

Feeds on insects and larvae. Takes also seeds, fruits and nectar. Usually searches for food among moss-cloaked and lichen-covered trunks and branches.

Breeding

Breeding season from April to July. The nest is a cup made of moss and placed in a small tree. The eggs are pale blue.
Resident species with some altitudinal movements, especially in harsh winters.1

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. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Christie, D.A. eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-96553-42-6

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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