Himalayan Bluetail
Tarsiger rufilatus
Brightly-colored adult male is unmistakable in range: blazing sapphire blue with orange flanks and white throat and belly. Female is brown with a white throat, orange flanks, and pale blue rump and tail. Red-flanked Bluetail can be confusing where the two overlap in the latter’s migratory and winter range; note Himalayan’s brighter blue eyebrow and brighter, deeper blue upperparts in the male. Female is slightly more grayish than Red-flanked, but this identification can be much more difficult, and females may not be safely separable if not with male. Himalayan’s song is a simple, repeated “tcher-thcew-wee!”. Breeds in submontane forest up to the treeline; descends in the winter, often moving into edge habitats. A frequent sight along forest tracks.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tarsiger rufilatus
- Authority
- (Hodgson, 1845)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Tarsiger
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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