Indian Blue Robin
Larvivora brunnea
Male is slaty-blue with a white eyebrow, dark face, and orange underparts. Female is matte brown with buffy underparts; females in the Chin Hills have a slate-gray back. Furtive and skulky; male sings from deep cover, giving a series of sharp whistles devolving into a burst of trilling and chattering notes. Prefers dense, damp undergrowth in wet forests, often in proximity to streams and gullies.
Identification
The Indian blue robin is similar in size to the related bluethroat at 15 cm long. The adult male has blue upperparts and rufous underparts. A bright white supercilium contrasts with a black mask that continues down the neck. The lower belly and undertail are also whitish. The female is olive brown above and buff below with a light eye-ring and rufescent rump. The breast and flanks are buffy.<p>Young birds are dark brown with buff spots.
Taxonomy
The Indian blue robin was described by Hodgson who placed it in a new genus Larvivora but it was later placed in the genus Luscinia. A large-sample molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that Luscinia was not monophyletic. The genus was therefore split and several species including Indian blue robin were moved to the reinstated genus Larvivora. Larvivora is a sister of the species Brachypteryx cruralis, Brachypteryx leucophrys and Brachypteryx hyperythra.
- Scientific name
- Larvivora brunnea
- Authority
- Hodgson, 1837
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Larvivora
Range and habitat
The nominate race breeds from Eastern Afghanistan to the eastern Himalayas. Race wickhami (Stuart Baker, 1916) breeds in the Chin Hills of western Myanmar and is said to be non-migratory.
- Breeding range
- OR : Himalayas to c China
- Non-breeding range
- s India and Sri Lanka
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The Indian blue robin is insectivorous and feeds mainly on the ground. It skulks in undergrowth and hops on the ground, frequently flicking and fanning its tail. The breeding season is May to July and the nest is a large cup of vegetation placed on the ground between the roots of large fir tree or in depression. The nest is lined with roots, hair and down. The usual clutch is 4 light blue eggs. Only the female is believed to incubate but both sexes take part feeding the young. The cuckoo Cuculus canorus has been recorded in old literature as a brood parasite of the species.<p>These birds arrive in the Himalayan breeding grounds in May and leave in September. Southward migration begins in August. During the migratory season they may be found as passage migrants all over peninsular India. In winter they are found mainly in the hill forests of southern India, the Western Ghats and in Sri Lanka. They arrive in mid-September and leave the winter quarters in mid-April. Males appeared to be commoner than females in a survey conducted in the Nilgiris suggesting either differences in the timing of migration of males and females or variation in wintering areas. At Point Calimere they have been regularly trapped during October and November on their return migration from Sri Lanka but rarely on the southward migration with suggestions that they may follow different routes.<p>The habitat in which they are found is usually dense and dark forest with undergrowth and leaf litter. They sing and call in their winter grounds. The song consists of a sudden and sharp series of whistles ending in a rapid series of notes. They also utter a sharp and low clicking alarm note.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Ocellated Tapaculo
Acropternis orthonyx
The antithesis of a typical tapaculo, Ocellated is large and spectacular. The body is mostly black and covered with bright white spots. The face and rump are bright rufous. Look for the daggerlike hindclaws, which are used to scrape the ground in search of insects. Sexes alike. This chunky bird is quite shy, staying on or near the ground among thick understory and bamboo thickets in montane forest from 2,300–3,500 m. Not usually seen without considerable effort. Listen for its loud descending whistle, “wheeeu.”
Tasmanian Thornbill
Acanthiza ewingii
Small bird with thin pointed bill. Upperparts brown, underparts grayish brown, with dark red eye, reddish-brown forehead, and pale gray throat with indistinct streaking. Similar Brown Thornbill has shorter tail, grayer flanks, and a pale instead of rufous-brown wing panel. Endemic to Tasmania, where found in wet forests with well-developed shrub layer.
Brehm's Tiger-Parrot
Psittacella brehmii
A medium-sized parrot of mid-montane forest and edge. Green body with barred back and rump, brown face with pale silver bill and red under the tail. Male has yellow crescent bordering the brown face and female has additional barring on underparts. Forages sluggishly at all levels and easily overlooked, although sometimes flushed from tracks where it takes grit. Similar to Painted Tiger-Parrot, but Brehm’s is larger, has a green rump and brown cheeks. Call, a whining, nasal “chew!”, or an upslurred “chuuit!”.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.