Sichuan Swirl
| Sichuan Swirl | ||||||||||||
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Sichuan swirl ( Locustella chengi ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Locustella chengi | ||||||||||||
| Alström , Xia , Rasmussen , Olson , Dai , Zhao , Leader , Carey , Dong , Cai , Holt , Manh , Song , Liu , Zhang & Lei , 2015 |
The Sichuan Schwirl ( Locustella chengi ) is a songbird species from the genus of the Schwirle ( Locustella ) in the family of the grass warbler (Locustellidae). The art epithet honors the Chinese ornithologist Cheng Tso-hsin (1906–1998), the founder of the Natural History Museum in Beijing. The species was described in 2015 based on a phylogenetic study.
features
The Sichuan Schwirl is a medium-sized species of Schwirl that reaches a body length of about 13 cm. The top and the wings are a vivid gray-brown. The narrow stripes over the reins and the crescents around the eyes are light gray-white. The throat is whitish. The chest is light brownish-gray, the sides are a little darker with barely noticeable darker spots at the transition to the throat. The flanks are lively gray-brown. The belly is whitish with a pale dirty yellowish tinge. The under tail-coverts are cool gray-brown and have gray-white tips. The beak is black. The lower beak is a little lighter gray. The legs are light gray-pink. The iris is dark gray-brown. Birds with a dark gray iris are believed to be individuals in their first summer. The sexes are similar. The juvenile birds have a very dark rust-brown upper surface and an almost unpatterned dark brown face. The chest is dark gray-brown and has no spots. The middle underside is sand yellow. The flanks and under tail-coverts are dull rust-red-brown. The latter have pale light tips. Compared to the almond shrub warbler ( Locustella mandelli ), with which this species has long been confused, the Sichuan swirl is usually grayer (less rusty brown) on the top as well as on the sides of the chest and on the flanks.
Vocalizations
The singing consists of a repetitive, snarling, frog-like series of notes. It is less variable in pitch and detailed structure, and it is significantly lower than that of the almond shrub singer. Both chants can be easily distinguished by ear. Playback experiments also indicate that the two species do not recognize the other song.
distribution
The Sichuan swirl occurs in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan , Shaanxi , Guizhou , Hubei , Hunan and Jiangxi .
habitat
In summer, the Sichuan swirl can be found in open habitats with trees and dense, low vegetation consisting of herbs and / or ferns at altitudes between 1000 m and 2275 m. Furthermore, the species occurs in clearings, in sparse secondary forests and in tea plantations, both on slopes and on flat terrain. In places in Sichuan and in the northeast of Jiangxi, where Locustella chengi and Locustella mandelli appear sympatric at this time of year , the latter species generally occurs at higher altitudes (especially above 1850 m), while Locustella chengi was only found below 2000 m , with very few observations above 1900 m. Both species inhabit the same habitat in the Laojun Shan Mountains in Sichuan. The habitat binding in winter is unknown.
status
The Sichuan Swirl was classified as “not endangered” in 2016 by BirdLife International and the IUCN . The species is widespread and their habitat is generally not considered endangered. In addition, the Sichuan swirl occurs in several nature reserves, including the Changqing Nature Reserve in Shaanxi and the Longcanggou National Nature Reserve in Sichuan.
literature
- Per Alström , Canwei Xia, Pamela C. Rasmussen , Urban Olsson , Bo Dai, Jian Zhao, Paul J. Leader, Geoff J. Carey, Lu Dong, Tianlong Cai, Paul I. Holt, Hung Le Manh, Gang Song, Yang Liu , Yanyun Zhang & Fumin Lei: Integrative taxonomy of the Russet Bush Warbler Locustella mandelli complex reveals a new species from central China. Avian Research 6: 9; 2015. doi : 10.1186 / s40657-015-0016-z
- Guy M. Kirwan : Sichuan Bush Warbler (Locustella chengi). In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, DA Christie, E. de Juana (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016 (accessed from http://www.hbw.com/node/937336 on August 19, 2016).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Per Alström, Canwei Xia, Pamela C. Rasmussen, Urban Olsson, Bo Dai, Jian Zhao, Paul J. Leader, Geoff J. Carey, Lu Dong, Tianlong Cai, Paul I. Holt, Hung Le Manh, Gang Song, Yang Liu, Yanyun Zhang and Fumin Lei: Integrative taxonomy of the Russet Bush Warbler Locustella mandelli complex reveals a new species from central China. Avian Research 6: 9; 2015. doi : 10.1186 / s40657-015-0016-z
Web links
- Sichuan Bush Warbler: New Bird Species Discovered in China in Sci-News on May 1, 2015, accessed August 19, 2016.
- xeno-canto: sound recordings - Locustella chengi