Himalayan Prinia
Prinia crinigera
A rather dull-plumaged songbird of fields, grasslands, forest edges, and farmland, mostly at moderate and high elevations. Often sparsely distributed and difficult to find. Gray-brown above with a pale belly and blackish streaking on head and wings. Breeding males become black-billed and darker on the face, losing the pale eyebrow that is usually shown in other plumages. Typically found singly or in pairs, clambering about in grasses and shrubbery. Often sings from an exposed perch, giving a loud but dry, rolling series of notes, slower than the song of Striped Prinia. Visually very similar to Striped Prinia, but usually separated by range. In the area of overlap, female and non-breeding male Himalayan Prinias show weaker streaking on the back and a duller rufous panel in the wings. Breeding males are distinguished by their darker faces without an eye-stripe. Also similar to Burmese Prinia, but there is little or no overlap in range, and Himalayan Prinia is distinguished by having more streaking, especially along the sides of the breast.
Identification
Its tail is long and broad, with a cold-toned dark color. <p>It exhibits significant sexual dimorphism in both size and color. Appearance varies by season. During the non-breeding season, both sexes have streaking on the upper parts and mottling on the sides of the face and breast.<p>During the breeding season, males have a blackish crown, which is paler around the edges in many individuals. The face is blackish, and the sides of the breast are dark and mottled. The mantle is streaked, but not as distinctly as the crown. The bill is blackish. <p>Breeding females are lighter in color and have less streaking. The bill is pale pinkish, darker from the tip to the lower mandible.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Prinia crinigera
- Authority
- Hodgson, 1836
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Prinia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Vertical migration
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-winged Cinclodes
Cinclodes atacamensis
Uncommon to fairly common in the high Andes, where usually outnumbered by similar but smaller Cream-winged Cinclodes. Favors streams and bogs with running water and also lakeshores. Generally less confiding than Cream-winged Cinclodes. Told from Cream-winged by brighter, rustier back and more contrasting white markings with broader wing stripe and big white tail corners as opposed to smaller buff tail corners on Cream-winged. Voice also quite different.
Brasilia Tapaculo
Scytalopus novacapitalis
Small gray bird, typically fiendishly difficult to see in swampy gallery forest with ferns. Plump, with a short tail; note the cinnamon and black bars on vent. Like many tapaculos, the song is a long and monotonous repetition, in this case of a single “ewk” note.
Siberian Accentor
Prunella montanella
The most migratory of the accentors, moving from its breeding territories in Russia to its wintering grounds in northern China and the upper Korean peninsula; vagrates outside this range somewhat frequently. Face is brightly marked: black with a yellow brow and throat. The more faded-looking juvenile can resemble Brown Accentor, but juvenile Siberian has a buffy brow, a gray nape, and buffy underparts. Forages in shrubby areas and thickets, usually in open forests and forest edges. Often seen in dense foliage overhanging or bordering narrow waterways. Song is a rich up-and-down series. Call is a high, thin “seeseeseesee.”
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