Chinese Grassbird

Graminicola striatus

A seldom seen and poorly understood shy, streaky, brown babbler. Stays low and hidden in tall grassy and reedy vegetation within fields and wetlands. Brown above with a pale breast and a long tail. The crown and back are streaked with black, giving it the appearance of an overgrown cisticola, but the distinctive patch of black-and-white streaking on the nape is unlike that of any warbler. Appears singly and in pairs.

Identification

The Chinese grassbird (Graminicola striatus) is a bird species in the family Pellorneidae. It was formerly placed in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae and the babbler family Timaliidae.

Taxonomy

Genus: Graminicola; Family: Pellorneidae; Order: Passeriformes.

Scientific name
Graminicola striatus
Authority
Styan, 1892
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Pellorneidae
Genus
Graminicola

Range and habitat

It occurs in tall emergent vegetation in or bordering freshwater swamps or along banks of rivers in the lowlands of southeastern China, Bangladesh, southeastern Myanmar, Cambodia, northeastern Vietnam, and Hainan Island. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Migration
Resident species

Behavior

Migration pattern: Resident species.

Conservation

Population trend: declining.

Population trend
declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Atlas Flycatcher

Atlas Flycatcher

Ficedula speculigera

Very similar and closely related to European Pied Flycatcher. Males have mixed features of Collared and European Pied Flycatchers, but note very large white wing patch and big white forehead. Also note the absence of a white collar and pale rump patch on Atlas Flycatcher. Females are very difficult to distinguish, but note gray upperparts with paler rump and big white primary base patch. Song is a cheery up-and-down series, quite similar to that of European Pied. Calls subtly different from European Pied Flycatcher with a slightly more metallic "whit" and a slower tempo. Inhabits a variety of wooded habitats in the Atlas Mountains.

Inca Flycatcher

Inca Flycatcher

Leptopogon taczanowskii

Fairly small flycatcher that perches upright in the mid-story of montane forest and cloud forest. Subtly colorful, with a diffuse gray facial pattern. Look for the warm buffy orange wash on the breast and faint orange wingbars. Warmer orange coloration and lack of a gray crown or strong facial pattern help distinguish it from the similar Slaty-capped Flycatcher, which it replaces at higher elevations. Forages singly or in pairs, occasionally joining mixed-species flocks; has the unusual habit of quickly raising one wing at a time behind its back.

White-browed Woodswallow

White-browed Woodswallow

Artamus superciliosus

Chunky bird with broad, triangular wings and short, decurved bill. Male dark gray above, dark orange-brown below, with dark gray face and throat and white eyebrow. Female similar in pattern but less richly colored. Whitish underwings contrast powerfully with dark underparts in flight. Often forages very high up in enormous flocks, sometimes mixed in with Masked Woodswallows.

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