Lowland Akalat

A small sunbird. The male has a pale gray belly and relatively narrow red breast band. The female is overall gray-brown. Pairs and small groups visit a broad variety of habitats. The species gives a characteristic short two-note “cher-cher” call and a rapid high-pitched song of up-and-down notes. The only similar species it overlaps with is Greater Double-collared Sunbird, which differs by being 20% larger, with a longer heavier bill, a much broader red breast band in the male, and a slower song.

Shy inhabitant of thickets and dense grassy areas from subalpine scrub to above treeline. Male is gunmetal gray with a white brow, bright orange throat, and a black patch extending from the face down to the breast. Very similar to the closely related Chinese Rubythroat, which has a white moustachial stripe. Chinese Rubythroat female averages browner than female Himalayan, but is best identified by range; Chinese breeds in central and south-central China, while Himalayan breeds along the Himalayas, in Xinjiang, and in Central Asia. Female Himalayan has a weaker eyebrow than female Siberian Rubythroat, and is darker overall. 

Adult male comes in two morphs, rufous and white; both have a black hood, white underparts, black head, short crest, and bright blue eyerings, but they differ in the color of the upperparts. Breeding males have a long tail twice the length of the body. Female and immature male similar but tail much shorter, and plumage duller overall. Female and young male similar to Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher but brighter rufous above, with a sharper demarcation between the black chest and white belly. Also compare with Blyth’s Paradise-Flycatcher where their ranges overlap. Breeds in broadleaf lowland and hill forests; also in more open habitats in migration and in winter. Song a series of descending fluty whistles; call a staccato, nasal chatter.