Emei Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus emeiensis
Brightly-marked medium-sized leaf warbler. Bright yellow-green above with two long yellow wingbars, white underparts, a broad yellowish eyebrow, and a pale crown stripe. Bill is long and bicolored: gray above, orange below. Most similar in appearance to “Blyth’s-type” warblers, but crown stripe narrower and less diffuse. “White-tailed-type” warblers such as Davison’s can also be similar, but Emei averages duller green above with less intense yellow areas. Breeding range highly restricted: only known from a handful of sites in central China, where it is found in mid- to high-altitude hill and montane deciduous broadleaveded or mixed forests. Wintering range essentially unknown, but has turned up in Myanmar. Song is a medium-length resonant trill; calls include “chup” and “chew”.
Identification
The Emei leaf warbler is a small passerine, measuring 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) in length. Its crown is greyish-green, slightly darker at rear than in front, with a pale median crown-stripe that is poorly marked in front, and slightly but noticeably broader, paler and more distinct at rear. It has a prominent pale yellowish-tinged supercilium and a distinct dark eye-stripe; the rest of ear-coverts are paler, with faint dark mottling. Its upperparts are dull green, clearly paler than the sides of its crown and eye-stripe. The wings and tail are primarily greenish, with distinct pale yellowish tips to the median coverts and broad pale yellowish tips to greater coverts, forming two prominent wing-bars. Its outermost tail-feather has a whitish edge measuring less than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) on the inner web and an indistinctly paler tip; the second outermost tail-feather has an even less distinct pale inner edge and tip. The bird's underside is whitish, indistinctly streaked with pale yellowish, and with slightly more yellowish undertail-coverts. Its iris is dark brown. Its upper mandible is blackish while the lower is pale orange. The tarsus, toes and claws are pinkish-grey, but the tarsus is slightly paler than the toes and claws. The Emei leaf warbler is very similar to the sympatric Claudia's leaf warbler, but differs mainly in having a less contrasting crown pattern, with lighter lateral crown-stripes and a darker median crown-stripe. The Emei leaf warbler's estimated generation length is 3.6 years.
Taxonomy
The relationships are uncertain, but a study based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b and 12S and nuclear myoglobin intron 2 revealed no evidence for a close relationship to the morphologically similar Blyth's leaf warbler P. reguloides complex.
- Scientific name
- Phylloscopus emeiensis
- Authority
- Alström & Olsson, 1995
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Phylloscopidae
- Genus
- Phylloscopus
Range and habitat
Breeds locally in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces, China and has recently been found to breed also in Shaanxi province, China. Appears on the breeding grounds in the latter part of April. One non-breeding record from southeast Myanmar. Number of mature individuals: No available data, but not known to be numerous anywhere. The Emei leaf warbler breeds in temperate deciduous broadleaved forest, sometimes with some spruce, Picea or Abies. It has been found to favour a mix of old secondary and replanted broadleaved forest, with lower densities in primary broadleaved forest. It has been recorded at 1000–2200 m in the breeding season.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Though the Emei leaf warbler is known to eat insects, there are currently no studies to support that claim.<p>Based on male singing activity, the breeding period presumably begins in the mid of to the late of April. However, there is no data to support that hypothesis.<p>The song is a clear, slightly quivering, straight trill between about 4 and 6 kHz, usually lasting 3–4 seconds. Every male displays several verse types; up to eight have been recorded from a single individual. The song is very different from those of the sympatric Claudia's leaf warbler and Kloss's leaf warbler. The call is a soft tu-du-du, tu-du, or tu-du-du-du, somewhat resembling one of the calls of European greenfinch, but clearly different from the calls of Claudia's and Kloss's leaf warblers.
Conservation
Though its total population size is unknown, and it is nowhere common, the population of Emei leaf warblers appears to be stable, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it as a species of least concern.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Large, boldly marked barbet of lowland rainforest. Plumage is variable: throat and breast range from yellow to red while the rest of the body is marked yellow and black. Found in a variety of habitats from forest edge to mature rainforest. Its hooting song is far reaching and can be told from other barbets by its pattern: a series of doubled hoots that accelerate.
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