The reed parrotbill (''Calamornis heudei'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Paradoxornithidae The parrotbills are a family, Paradoxornithidae, of passerine birds that are primarily native to Eastern Asia, East and Southeast Asia (with a single species in western North America), though feral populations exist elsewhere. They are generally ...

. It is found in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

and eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. The northern

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

''C. h. polivanovi'' is sometimes regarded as a separate species, the northern parrotbill.

Scientific name

Either ''Calamornis heudei'', because it belongs to a subgenus family known as Calamornis, or ''Paradoxornis heudei'', because it's in the Paradoxornithidae family.

Description

The reed parrotbill species is known to have significantly short, wide, and deep bills. The reed parrotbill is the only parrotbill to change its appearance based on whether it's in

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

season. In winter, non-breeding season, the reed parrotbill has a pinkish-cream and ash-gray forehead and neck. This species has streaks of black and warm brown from above its eyes to the tip of its head. The region between its eyes and bill is a little whiter than its forehead. The reed parrotbill has a white-tinted stripe that runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, and finishes somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Its ears are a similar color to its crown, also known as the top of its head. They have different colored streaks on their body which include black and brown. The streaks become blacker the further down the body. In summer, breeding season, the top of the birds head to the feathers in the upper middle of the back below the neck feathers, are a bluish-gray. The lower end of the feathers are more of a dark chestnut. Their ears are slightly paler, and the sides are a lighter chestnut color than they are in non-breeding season.

Habitat

Reed parrotbills are native to East Asia. Their habitat is known as a reedbed, which is a very wet area of reed plants between water and land. Reed parrotbills rely on reedbeds because it is their natural

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

that is home to both their water and food. Recently, the population of this species has been declining due to degradation of

reedbeds A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

in their environment. This habitat loss has detrimentally affected the population of reed parrotbills.

Diet

Reed parrotbills feed on insects, including pancake-shaped insects known as Alceridae. Reed parrotbills cut through reed stems with their bills to obtain food inside, and make very loud noises while doing so. They lack the hind part of the stomach that is responsible for grinding food. Reed parrotbills have a difficult time digesting hard food items because they lack the

gizzard The gizzard, also referred to as the ventriculus, gastric mill, and gigerium, is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals, including archosaurs (pterosaurs, crocodiles, alligators, dinosaurs, birds), earthworms, some gastropods, so ...

muscle.

Breeding

Reed parrotbill are occasionally multi-brooded meaning they raise multiple broods a season. Their first laying season occurs from the middle of May to the middle of July. The second occurs from the middle of July to the middle of August. The third season is from the middle of August to the middle of September. They are typically found in pairs during breeding season. They breed mainly in the summer and in their thick nests located in China. However, their habitats are being taken away because of the re-development in China which causes them to have a loss of

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. This directly connects to their breeding, and has caused it to decline.

Decline of the reed parrotbill

The reed parrotbill species is predicted to decline rapidly as a result of

degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradation ...

of their habitat. They are not threatened globally, it's considered “

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

.” The main threats to their species are associated with clearance of reedbeds and over-harvesting reeds. The population trend is decreasing fast, and there is a continuing decline of mature individuals.

References

* Robson, C. (2007). Family Paradoxornithidae (Parrotbills) pp. 292 – 321 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...

'', Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Montreal. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1589253 reed parrotbill Birds of China Birds of Manchuria reed parrotbill Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN