Jungle Prinia
Prinia sylvatica
Dull brown prinia. Largely devoid of eye-catching field marks: gray-brown above and white below with pale eyebrow. Plain Prinia can be very similar, but Jungle averages larger and more thickset, with a heavier bill and weaker eyebrows. Look for this skulker in dry scrubby tangles, often in areas intermixed with boulders. Forages close to the ground. Song is a rollicking, repetitive “ti’li’lew-ti’li’lew-ti’le’lew.” Also gives various chip notes, as well as a loud chatter when agitated.
Identification
These 15 cm (6 in) long warblers have short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short black bill. In breeding plumage, adults are grey-brown above, with a short white supercilium and warmer brown rump. There are rufous fringes on the closed wings and white edges to the tail. Underparts are whitish-buff. The sexes are identical except that the male has a blacker bill and mouth in the breeding season.<p>In winter, the upperparts are a warmer brown, and the underparts more buff. The tail is longer than in summer. There are a four races differing in plumage shade. The distinctive endemic race in Sri Lanka, P. s.valida, retains summer plumage, including the shorter tail, all year round, and lacks the supercilium and white in the tail.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Prinia sylvatica
- Authority
- Jerdon, 1840
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Cisticolidae
- Genus
- Prinia
Range and habitat
This prinia is a resident breeder in Bangladesh and India, far south-western Nepal, and Sri Lanka, typically found in dry open grassland, open woodland, scrub and sometimes gardens.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Like most warblers, the jungle prinia is insectivorous. It builds its nest in a shrub or tall grass and lays 3–5 eggs. The song is a repetitive pit-pretty, pit-pretty, pit-pretty.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Common Scale-backed Antbird
Willisornis poecilinotus
Short-tailed antbird found in the understory of mature rainforest. Forages singly or in pairs, clinging sideways to vertical stems close to the ground; often follows army ant swarms, but usually does not associate with mixed species flocks. Males are gray with black scalloping on the back and black tail with white tip. Females vary in plumage geographically but are generally tawny buff with similar diagnostic black markings on the back and black-and-white tail; underparts gray in northeastern Amazonia, and underparts gray and upperparts uniform brown in southwestern Amazonia.
Australasian Grebe
Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Small ducklike bird that rides low in the water. In breeding plumage note bright yellow eye, dark face, and rusty brown neck. In non-breeding plumage it is much paler, with the dark cap not extending below the eye (compare with Hoary-headed Grebe). Can be abundant; typically on freshwater ponds and lakes.
Northern Double-collared Sunbird
Cinnyris reichenowi
Medium-sized sunbird in which males are colorful, green and red, and females drab brownish. Males have yellow shoulder tufts that are usually hidden. Found in montane forest clearings and edge, scrub, and gardens. The call is a harsh “jeet” and the song a quick explosion of high-pitched notes. Very similar to Eastern Double-collared and Olive-bellied Sunbirds, but males separated by the purple border above the red chest band. Female hard to separate from Eastern Double-collared, but can be separated from Olive-bellied by its lack of a pale eye-stripe. Also similar to Stuhlmann’s Sunbird, but smaller overall, with a shorter tail and bill.
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