The fulvous parrotbill (''Suthora fulvifrons'') is a species of

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

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 ...

. The species is also known as the fulvous-fronted parrotbill, the fulvous-fronted suthora, and the fulvous-fronted crowtit. The species, along with several others from the genus ''Suthora'', is sometimes placed in the genus ''

Paradoxornis ''Paradoxornis'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Paradoxornithidae The parrotbills are a family, Paradoxornithidae, of passerine birds that are primarily native to East and Southeast Asia (with a single species in western North Am ...

''. The species has four subspecies; the nominate subspecies from central Nepal, Bhutan and north-east India; ''P. f. chayulensis'' from north India and south China; ''P. f. albifacies '' from north Burma and nearby south China, and ''P. f. cyanophrys'' from central China.Robson, C. (2017). Fulvous Parrotbill (''Paradoxornis fulvifrons''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/59713 on 4 March 2017).

Distribution and habitat

The fulvous parrotbill is a bamboo specialist, exclusively living on dense stands of bamboo in or near forests. It lives in montane stands, ranging from , most commonly above but sometimes down to . The species is not thought to be migratory.

Description

The species is small, in length. The plumage of the nominate is dominated by a rich buff head, upper wing coverts, flanks, rump and tail. The belly is white and the face is dominated by a black stripe above the eye that gets larger towards the middle and then smaller again, and a faint white stripe below the face. The sexes are alike; the juvenile resembles the adult but is darker, particularly below. ''P. f. chayulensis'' has a paler belly than the nominate, ''P. f. albifacies '' has a darker stripe above the eye, and ''P. f. cyanophrys'' has a blue-grey eyestripe and brighter plumage overall.

Behaviour

The fulvous parrotbill feeds on the buds of bamboo and birches, as well as tiny seeds and insects. In order to aid the digestion of their food they will swallow grit to act as a

gizzard stone A gastrolith, also called a stomach stone or gizzard stone, is a rock held inside a gastrointestinal tract. Gastroliths in some species are retained in the muscular gizzard and used to grind food in animals lacking suitable grinding teeth. In oth ...

. When not breeding they will form flocks of up to 20 or 30 birds. The nests of the fulvous parrotbill are bowl-shaped and built by both parents from bamboo leaves, rootlets and mosses. They are placed in dense stands of bamboo, between off the ground. The average clutch size is around 3.3 eggs, which are pale blue. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the nestlings. Nesting success is low, possibly because of human disturbance.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075563 fulvous parrotbill fulvous parrotbill Birds of Bhutan Birds of China Birds of Nepal Birds of Yunnan fulvous parrotbill Taxonomy articles created by Polbot