The grey-cheeked fulvetta or Morrison's fulvetta (''Alcippe morrisonia'') is a

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

Alcippeidae ''Alcippe'' is a genus of passerine birds in the monotypic family Alcippeidae. The genus once included many other fulvettas and was previously placed in families Pellorneidae or Timaliidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Alcippe'' previously included ...

. The species was first described by

Robert Swinhoe Robert Swinhoe FRS (1 September 1836 – 28 October 1877) was an English diplomat and naturalist who worked as a Consul in Formosa. He catalogued many Southeast Asian birds, and several, such as Swinhoe's pheasant, are named after him. Bio ...

in 1863. The grey-cheeked fulvetta is part of a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

and the nominate ''morrisonia'' is now restricted to endemic Taiwan birds, with the David's fulvetta (''Alcippe davidi''), Huet's fulvetta (''Alcippe hueti'') and Yunnan fulvetta (''Alcippe fratercula'') now recognised as a separate species.

Distribution

It is a year-round resident throughout Taiwan. It is found in evergreen mountain

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Characteristics

This 15-cm long bird has a grey head with a white eye ring and a long black eye stripe running from the bill down the sides of the neck. The upperparts are olive and the underparts are yellow. Its call is a weak ''chi-chi-chu-chui''. It will readily join

mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

Notes

References

*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 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, Barcelona. *Lekagul, Boonsong, Round, Philip ''A Guide to the Birds of Thailand'' Saha Karn Baet, 1991 *Robson, Craig ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand'' New Holland Press, 2004 {{Taxonbar , from=Q1441635 grey-cheeked fulvetta Birds of South China Birds of Hainan Birds of Taiwan Birds of Southeast Asia grey-cheeked fulvetta Taxonomy articles created by Polbot