Pearl jayling

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Pearl jayling
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Sylvioidea
Family : Jays (Leiothrichidae)
Genre : Garrulax
Type : Pearl jayling
Scientific name
Garrulax offers
( Oustalet , 1897)

The pearl jayling ( Garrulax plusi ) is a species of bird from the family of the Leiotrichidae , whose representatives were previously counted among the timalia . He is in the northwestern Chinese province of Yunnan and southwestern Sichuan endemic . His scientific name honors the missionary and naturalist Félix Biet (1838–1901).

description

With a body length of 25.5 cm, the pearl jay is almost the size of a blackbird . It is predominantly yellow-brown with a noticeable black and white mottling. The iris is pale yellow, the bill brownish horn-colored with a lightened tip and base of the lower mandible. Legs and feet are dull brown. There is no gender dimorphism . The youth dress has not yet been described. The species is monotypical .

The top of the head is lively reddish-medium brown in color from crown to neck and tinged with olive. The rest of the top is more of an ocher color. Reins, eye area and the upper part of the ear covers are whitish. A ring around the eye and the lower ear covers are brownish. The chin, throat and beard are blackish-brown. This color turns into a yellow-brown towards the chest, which runs out towards the whitish belly. The flanks, leg fletching and under tail coverts as well as the upper wing coverts are also colored yellowish-brown. The nape feathers have whitish tips, from the neck down each feather has a white lace border with a black subterminal band over it , so that the bird looks noticeably spotted. The wings are blackish-brown and have dark and white tips. When folded, the outer wing shows a gray field. The control springs are ocher brown with a black-brown subterminal tape and a white tip.

voice

The singing is a loud, clear and at the end falling wi… wi wi wu , sometimes also a less clearly falling wi… ch'wi wi ch'wu or a wi… chiu wu wu wu wi rising at the end . The first wi is always particularly loud. The stanzas are repeated two or three times.

Distribution and existence

The pearl jayling is limited in its distribution - like the Yunnan kleiber and the brown-winged parrot tit - to the endemic bird area "Yunnan Mountains". The exact distribution area as well as the population is unknown. The size of the former is estimated at 23,400 km², the latter at between 2,500 and 10,000 individuals. Presumably the population is decreasing. The species can be abundant locally, but the limited evidence suggests that it is fairly dispersed. Since 1980, only two of twelve known occurrences have been confirmed. The rapidly increasing use of forests and deforestation for the production of arable and grazing land is one of the likely main causes of a decline in the population. Occurrences in nature reserves are not known, but some areas that have meanwhile been protected have suitable habitats . These include the Baima Xue Shan National Nature Reserve , the Haba Xue Shan , the Bitahai Nature Reserve, and the Yulong Xue Shan Nature Reserve . The species is classified as endangered (“vulnerable”) by the IUCN .

Way of life

The pearl jay was mainly observed in higher, temperate or sub-alpine areas, where it inhabits various forest habitats such as bamboo stands or thickets in light mixed forests, mixed stands of fir and spruce or rhododendron forests . The altitude distribution is between 2500 and 4270 m. The diet consists of various invertebrates and fruits. Nothing is known about behavior and reproduction.

literature

  • Nigel Collar, Craig Robson: White-speckled Laughingthrush (Ianthocincla habeni). In: Josep del Hoyo , Andrew Elliott, David Christie: Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 12, Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions 2007 (Revision 2013), p. 253.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ IOC World Bird List ( Memento of the original from April 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Version 3.4 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / worldbirdnames.org
  2. ↑ Alice Cibois: Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny of Babblers (Timalidae) , The Auk 120 (1), 2003, pp. 35-54

Web links