The Emei Shan liocichla (''Liocichla omeiensis'') is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Leiothrichidae The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire fami ...

. The species, also known as the Omei Shan or grey-faced liocichla, is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to mountain ranges in Southern

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

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 ...

. It is closely related to the

Bugun liocichla The Bugun liocichla (''Liocichla bugunorum'') is a passerine bird species from the family Leiothrichidae closely related to the Emei Shan liocichla. First spotted in 1995 in Arunachal Pradesh, India, it was described as a new species in 2006. T ...

, a species only described in 2006, and which it closely resembles. The Emei Shan liocichla is an olive-grey coloured bird with red wing patches. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

on the face is grey with a slight red ring on each side of the face. The species feeds in the undergrowth of semi-tropical

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

. It is an altitudinal migrant, spending the summer months above 1000 m and moving below 600m in the winter. The Emei Shan liocichla is considered vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. 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 ...

through logging and conversion to agriculture. Some populations are protected inside reserves, such as the

Emei Shan Protected Scenic Site Mount Emei (; ), alternately Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of the Sichuan Basin. The mountains west of it are know ...

References

*Birdlife Internationa
Bugun Liocichla: a sensational discovery in north-east India
Downloaded from https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org/ on 12/9/2006 *BirdLife International (2006

Downloaded from https://www.webcitation.org/5QE8rvIqH?url=http://www.birdlife.org/ on 12/9/2006 *Collar, N. J. & Robson C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

External links

at ADW {{Taxonbar, from=Q3098476

Emei Shan liocichla The Emei Shan liocichla (''Liocichla omeiensis'') is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species, also known as the Omei Shan or grey-faced liocichla, is endemic to mountain ranges in Southern Sichuan, China. It is closely related t ...

Birds of Central China Endemic birds of China