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.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Graminicola striatus
- Authority
- Styan, 1892
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Locustellidae
- 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
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Procellaria conspicillata
Large, stocky, dark petrel. Look for the diagnostic pattern of white “spectacles” on the face. In flight, alternates slow wing beats with glides. Usually seen well offshore in relatively warm waters. Breeds only on Inaccessible Island. The closely-related White-chinned Petrel lacks the white face pattern.
Sjöstedt's Greenbul
Baeopogon clamans
A unusual dark greenbul often found near water in the forest interior. Decorated in various shades of dark and olive green, with a gray throat that contrasts with the breast, a buffy belly, and bright white sides of the tail. Can be confused with both Honeyguide Greenbul and actual honeyguides, but the flight is direct rather than undulating, the throat contrasts with the breast, the eyes are always dark, and the vocalizations are distinctive. Can be located by its “REHR!” calls, often followed by a series of fast, scratchy notes and sometimes repeated for minutes on end.
Seychelles Swiftlet
Aerodramus elaphrus
Small gray swift with a slightly paler rump and belly. Flight is fast but erratic, with the wings pushed forward. Only known nesting sites are in a few caves, but can be seen in flight over all habitats on the granitic islands of the Seychelles. The calls include high-pitched twitters and echolocation clicks. Usually easy to identify, as it is the only resident swift on the Seychelles. Vagrant swifts have longer wings and a longer, forked tail.
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