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
Elfin Myzomela
Myzomela adolphinae
A tiny honeyeater of mid-montane forest canopy and villages. Brown with a whitish belly and fairly short curved bill. Female has just a reddish smudge in the base of the bill and male a scarlet hood and rump with black wings and back. Male is unmistakable. Female is similar to other species, but smaller and only has red on the chin. Similar size to a flowerpecker, but Elfin has a longer, more curved bill. Song, a whistled “chew chew-daloo” and call a simple “tsip”.
Livingstone's Flycatcher
Erythrocercus livingstonei
Unusual little flycatcher with olive upperparts, yellow underparts, and a black-banded rufous tail. Found very locally in riverine and coastal forest and thickets. Restless bird that is constantly in motion, and is fond of spreading and flicking its tail. The vocalizations are a rapid series of “chit” calls and a short, melodious, warbling song.
Rusty Flowerpiercer
Diglossa sittoides
Small flowerpiercer. Male distinctive: slaty gray above and warm tawny-buff below with no contrasting markings on wings. Bill is upturned with a hook at the tip, typical of a flowerpiercer. Female more confusing, overall dull brownish. Indistinct streaking on breast separates from all other flowerpiercers. Found in fairly open shrubby areas, woodlands, and gardens; not in forest.
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