Spotted Bush Warbler
Locustella thoracica
Furtive brown warbler. Brown above and pale below, with a striped vent. Namesake spotting is variable; Himalayan birds have a necklace of dark spots, while central Chinese birds have a much lighter stippled patch on the chest. Extremely difficult to tell apart from non-singing Baikal Bush Warbler where the two overlap: in Spotted, look for a stronger gray wash on the neck and chest, and warmer-toned upperparts. Sichuan and Chinese Bush Warblers can also be similar, but average more warmly-colored, with plainer underparts. Spotted Bush Warbler breeds in dense, shrubby, stunted growth near treeline and winters in reedbeds, wet meadows, and grassy edges. Furtive and skulking; listen for its song, a long series of curious, echoing, clicking phrases: “pritti-kee-kee-dee, pritti-kee-kee-dee.”
Identification
The spotted bush warbler (Locustella thoracica) is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in the northern Himalayas, Yunnan and central China, in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. Its natural habitat is arboreal forests.
Taxonomy
Genus: Locustella; Family: Locustellidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Locustella thoracica
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1845)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Locustellidae
- Genus
- Locustella
Range and habitat
Breeding range: OR : c Himalayas to c China. Non-breeding range: se Asia.
- Breeding range
- OR : c Himalayas to c China
- Non-breeding range
- se Asia
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Madagascar Spinetail
Zoonavena grandidieri
Small, uniformly gray swift. With a very good view, pale rump and tiny spines on tail can be seen. Flies rigidly with wings pushed forwards. Seen in flight over and adjacent to all types of forest. On Madagascar, often nests and roosts in cavities of baobab trees. Similar in size and shape to Little Swift, but doesn’t show a bold white band on the rump, and has weaker flight. Similar in size to Malagasy Palm Swift, but has a much shorter square tail. Smaller and shorter-tailed than Madagascar Swift, with much weaker flight.
Japanese Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus xanthodryas
Small songbird, a member of the Arctic Warbler complex, this species looks essentially identical to Arctic Warbler and Kamchatka Leaf Warbler but is more evenly yellowish. Normally only distinguished in the field by breeding range and song: breeds in forests on all of the main Japanese islands except Hokkaido, where it is replaced in summer by Kamchatka Leaf Warbler. Favors foothill to montane areas with dense brushy understory; can be found in more open wooded habitats in migration and on wintering grounds. Song resembles that of Arctic in general pitch and register but is less uniform, like a more rising and falling version of Arctic’s song. Call also similar but averages lower in pitch.
Plain-winged Antshrike
Thamnophilus schistaceus
Even-colored antshrike of forest under- and midstory. Often travels with mixed-species flocks. Males are plain gray; females are tawny with olive underparts. Females have a more contrasting reddish cap than other female antshrikes. Heard more often than seen; listen for a series of accelerating “awh” notes terminating in a punctuated down-slurred note.
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