Rusty-fronted barwing

Actinodura egertoni

Photo by Raj Kamal Phukan (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:
rusty-fronted barwing (en); asa-malhada-ruivo (pt); actinodure d'Egerton (fr); actinodura de Egerton (es); rotstirnsibia (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Timaliidae

Range:
This species is found in the foothills of the Himalayas, in Nepal, Bhutan, north-eastern India, western Myanmar and marginally across the border into China.

Size:
These birds are 22-24 cm long and weigh 33-38 g.

Habitat:
The rusty-fronted barwing is found in moist tropical forests, especially secondary forests and deciduous forest with a dense understorey, at altitudes of 600-2.600 m.

Diet:
They mainly eat invertebrates such as grasshoppers and ants, but complement their diet with berries, figs and seeds.

Breeding:
Rusty-fronted barwings breed in April-July. The nest is a cup-shaped structure made of ferns, bamboo, leaves and fine vegetable fibres, lined with moss and small rootlets. It is placed in a scrub or small tree up to 6 m above the ground. The female lays 3-4 pale blue eggs with brown markings. There is no information regarding the incubation and fledging periods.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a relatively large breeding range and is described as rare and local in central Nepal, frequent in Bhutan and locally fairly common in India. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to ongoing habitat destruction and fragmentation, but it is not considered threatened at present.