Fulvous Parrotbill
Suthora fulvifrons
Small, ornate parrotbill with a pale belly and a long gray eyebrow. Orange overall with dark wing panels and a variable amount of white on the face. Central Chinese birds have a white face patch, while southern Chinese and Himalayan birds are limited to a short and largely unnoticeable white stripe under the cheek. Moves in large flocks through bamboo stands in coniferous and mixed foothill and montane forests. Lacks the dark throat of Black-throated and Golden Parrotbills.
Identification
The species is small, 12 to 12.5 cm (4.7–4.9 in) in length. The plumage of the nominate is dominated by a rich buff head, upper wing coverts, flanks, rump and tail. The belly is white and the face is dominated by a black stripe above the eye that gets larger towards the middle and then smaller again, and a faint white stripe below the face. The sexes are alike; the juvenile resembles the adult but is darker, particularly below. P. f. chayulensis has a paler belly than the nominate, P. f. albifacies has a darker stripe above the eye, and P. f. cyanophrys has a blue-grey eyestripe and brighter plumage overall.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Suthora fulvifrons
- Authority
- (Hodgson, 1845)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paradoxornithidae
- Genus
- Suthora
Range and habitat
The fulvous parrotbill is a bamboo specialist, exclusively living on dense stands of bamboo in or near forests. It lives in montane stands, ranging from 2,440–3,660 m (8,010–12,010 ft), most commonly above 2,700 m (8,900 ft) but sometimes down to 1,700 m (5,600 ft). The species is not thought to be migratory.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The fulvous parrotbill feeds on the buds of bamboo and birches, as well as tiny seeds and insects. In order to aid the digestion of their food they will swallow grit to act as a gizzard stone. When not breeding they will form flocks of up to 20 or 30 birds.<p>The nests of the fulvous parrotbill are bowl-shaped and built by both parents from bamboo leaves, rootlets and mosses. They are placed in dense stands of bamboo, between 0.7–1.9 m (2.3–6.2 ft) off the ground. The average clutch size is around 3.3 eggs, which are pale blue. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the nestlings. Nesting success is low, possibly because of human disturbance.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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