Collared Bush-Robin
Tarsiger johnstoniae
Male is unmistakable, with a glowing silver supercilium, black hood, and fiery orange shoulder and collar. Female is more somber in plumage, brownish above, buffy below, with a trace of the male's pale brow. White-browed Bush-Robin is superficially similar, but darker gray above, with a more prominent supercilium. Inhabits montane regions, often in forest edge or open areas above the treeline.
Identification
The collared bush robin is about 12 cm (4.7 in) long. The male and female are different. The male has a slate-black head with a white supercilium. The rufous upper breast, mantle and scapulars form a collar. The back is sooty-black, the wings are black and brownish-black, and the tail is black. The lower breast is buffish-yellow, and the belly varies from grey-white to buffish-olive. The beak and legs are black. The female has a less distinct supercilium. The upperparts are mostly dull olive-brown, and the wings and tail are dark brown. The underparts are variable. The throat and breast are warm brown, but the throat is sometimes blackish, and the breast can be pale yellow or yellowish-olive. The juvenile bird can be distinguished from the female by its pale buff streaks and spots.
Taxonomy
This species was described as Ianthia johnstoniae by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant in 1906: the specimens were collected by Walter Goodfellow on Yushan (Mount Morrison). It has also been included in the genus Luscinia. The species' eponym is named after Marion A. Johnstone, a well-known aviculturist to whom Goodfellow previously sent a specimen of a lorikeet.
- Scientific name
- Tarsiger johnstoniae
- Authority
- (Ogilvie-Grant, 1906)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Tarsiger
Range and habitat
Endemic to Taiwan, this robin's habitat is montane and subalpine forests, usually at elevations of 2,000–2,800 m (6,600–9,200 ft) and sometimes above the tree line. It descends to lower elevations in winter. It lives in undergrowth of coniferous forests with shrubs and bamboo. It can also be seen in parks and along roads.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The collared bush robin is often seen in pairs and also singly. It catches insects by striking from perches, and it also forages for invertebrates on the ground and in low plants. Its calls include tuc notes with pi notes in between, a low grruit, and a combination of piping and grating notes. It sings from a perch, giving a series of phrases each consisting of two or three high-pitched, sibilant notes. Breeding occurs from March to August, and there are two broods per year. A territory is defended by the male and female. The female builds a cup nest made of plants and lays two to three eggs. The collared bush robin sometimes hybridises with subspecies formosanus of the white-browed bush robin.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant
Agriornis albicauda
Scarce and local in open and semiopen habitats of the high Andes, where it usually greatly outnumbered by similar Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant. Both species have mostly white tail (obvious in flight) and are best separated by bill size: White-tailed Shrike-Tyrant has a stout bill that is pale below compared with the slender, dark bill of Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant. These species can occur side-by-side and have similar habits, perching on prominent lookouts but then disappearing easily; both run well on the ground and often fly long distances.
Tanimbar Bush Warbler
Horornis carolinae
A long-billed brown warbler with a prominent buff eyebrow, a russet cap, a white throat, and a gray underside. An arboreal species that inhabits thick understory of forest, edges, bamboo thickets, and scrub. Restricted to Yamdena in the Tanimbar Islands. Unstreaked upperparts separate it from the other brown warbler-like birds in range, Tawny Grassbird and Zitting and Golden-headed Cisticolas. Distinctive song, characteristic of bush warblers, begins with a building, ascending three-part whistle with a significantly drawn-out third note, before jumbled fourth note: “tu-tu-tuooooo-chyop.” Also gives abrupt “chup” calls.
Olive-backed Forest Robin
Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus
Localized species found only in lowland rainforest south of the River Ogooué in Gabon, and possibly also in adjacent Congo. A short-tailed understory robin with a bright orange throat. Also shows a dark-green back, mostly gray face, pale-yellow belly, and a white spot in front of the eye. Vocalizations seem to differ from other forest robins, though more study is needed. One vocalization is a chirp note, followed by a series of modulated notes. Another is a series of phrases, which are continually repeated. May occur alongside very similar Orange-breasted Forest Robin, but distinguished by the green rather than brownish back, and the yellowish rather than whitish belly. Can also be confused with Lowland Akalat, but always distinguished by the white spot in front of the eye, as well as the dark-green rather than rufous-brown back, and the yellowish rather than white belly.
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