Yellow-billed Grosbeak
Eophona migratoria
Medium-sized songbird of woodlands, neighborhoods, and parks. Male grayish brown with black head and wings, faintly orange flanks, and a dark-tipped yellow bill. Female similar but lacks the black head, has much paler orange on the flanks, and is an overall brownish tone. Male similar to Japanese Grosbeak, which has less black on the head, no orange on the flanks, and lacks the dark tip to the bill of most adult male Yellow-billed Grosbeaks. Often detected as it gives a hard "jik!" while flying overhead.
Identification
Eophona migratoria measures between eighteen and twenty centimeters in length, for a wingspan of 23–24 cm and a weight of 55-60 g. The appearance is massive, as is typical of the finches, with a large head. The beak is very strong and conical. The beak color is yellow (hence the common name of "yellow-billed grosbeak") with a black tip. The body is of a uniform gray color, darker on the back and wings and lighter and tending to silver on the belly, with accentuated brown shades on the sides. The wings are black with a rounded white spot on the tip. The tail is black, the legs of pale flesh color and the eyes are brown. Sexual dimorphism is present. The head mask is gray in the female and not black as in the male.
Taxonomy
Subspecies include:
- Scientific name
- Eophona migratoria
- Authority
- Hartert, EJO, 1903
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Eophona
Range and habitat
This species is present in Russian Far East, China, Manchuria and Korea. It occurs in forests , mixed woods and bamboo forests of hilly and mountainous areas: it does not fear humans and also goes into gardens and orchards.
- Breeding range
- PAL : e
- Non-breeding range
- se Asia
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Abyssinian Longclaw
Macronyx flavicollis
A large and relatively colorful member of the pipit family. Note the black necklace, orange throat, and partially yellow eye-stripe. The white corners of the black tail are conspicuous during the weak, fluttering flight. Found on the ground in montane grassland, often in wet areas. Brownish immatures can be confused with pipits, but are larger and more robust. The vocalizations include “tsik” calls and whistles.
Cone-billed Tanager
Conothraupis mesoleuca
Recently rediscovered tanager. Males are black and white with a whitish-gray bill and small white wing patch. Females are uniformly olive-brown with a darker bill. Found in seasonally flooded forests along rivers and in gallery forest, but always near water. Forages at lower levels but also perches in the tops of trees. Feeds on seeds but also has been reported flycatching. The song begins with a series of low notes and finishes with a trill: “tche, tche, tche, tche, tche, tcherrrrrrrrrrrr, tcherrrrrrrrr, tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”
Baikal Teal
Sibirionetta formosa
Males is exquisitely patterned, with an unmistakable green-and-yellow facial pattern, spotted rose-pink breast, and long, drooping scapulars. Female mostly drab brown but with a distinct white spot near the bill base as well as a very weak hint of the male's facial pattern. Breeds in marshy woods and on the tundra. During the non-breeding season, gathers in groups of up to several thousand in marshes and estuaries in northeastern Asia; generally uncommon outside core wintering grounds.
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