White-throated Bushchat
Saxicola insignis
Handsome but scarce bushchat. Breeds in eastern Mongolia and migrates through west-central China to winter in the southern Himalayas on the Indian and Nepalese borders. Male has a black head, white collar, and a large orange patch on the breast. Female is browner overall, with a white throat and a much more extensively warm-colored breast and belly. Breeds at high altitudes in open areas with rocky outcrops and clusters of vegetation, often near water. Winters in wet grassy areas such as fields, meadows, and waterside grasslands.
Identification
The white-throated bush chat (Saxicola insignis), also known as Hodgson's bushchat, is an Old World flycatcher in the genus Saxicola. It is IUCN Red Listed as Vulnerable as of 2018. In 2001, the global population has been estimated at between 3,500 and 15,000 individuals. The major threat appears to be the rapid loss of grasslands in its wintering areas. It winters in the Nepal and Indian Terai and in the Dooars. In this region, it has been recorded in Jim Corbett, Shuklaphanta, Chitwan, Kaziranga, and Manas National Parks and in Lumbini Crane Sanctuary. It prefers wet and dry grasslands, reeds and tamarisks along riverbeds, and also occurs in sugarcane fields. In spring and summer, it breeds in the alpine or sub-alpine meadows and scrub in the mountains of Mongolia and adjacent parts of Russia. The white-throated bush chats is insectivorous. During a survey carried out in the Shuklaphanta National Park, a total of 19 white-throated bush chats were recorded in January 2005, and a year later only eight males.
Taxonomy
Genus: Saxicola; Family: Muscicapidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Saxicola insignis
- Authority
- Gray, JE & Gray, GR, 1847
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Saxicola
Range and habitat
Breeding range: PAL : Mongolia. Non-breeding range: n India and Nepal.
- Breeding range
- PAL : Mongolia
- Non-breeding range
- n India and Nepal
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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