The fire-tailed myzornis (''Myzornis pyrrhoura'') 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 ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Its genus ''Myzornis'' is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, and has recently been placed 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 ...

Description

The fire-tailed myzornis is a small species of warbler, long and weighing . It has bright green plumage with a black mask around the eyes and black scalloping on the . The wing is black and white with a streak of bright red and the sides of the tail are red too. The bill is long, slightly curved and black.Collar, N. & Robson, C. (2017). Fire-tailed Myzornis (''Myzornis pyrrhoura''). 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/59675 on 14 June 2017).

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. It is a common species in the upper ridges of the Sikkim and Arunachal Himalayas; mostly between 9,000 ft and 13,000 ft according to climatic conditions and seasonal variation. It prefers bamboo thickets, ''Rhododendron'' shrubs, birches, and junipers. There is some seasonal movement, the bird descending to lower altitudes in autumn.

Ecology

The fire-tailed myzornis feeds on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s and small

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s, as well as consuming fruit,

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

from trees. In India and Nepal the breeding season is April to June, but the season may be longer in Bhutan, as juveniles have been observed in mid-September.

Gallery

File:Fire-tailed Myzornis On Bamboo Strand Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 14.05.2016.jpg, Bamboo stalks File:Fire-tailed Myzornis On Rhododendron Flowering Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 18.04.2016.jpg, Rhododendron File:Fire-tailed Myzornis On Himalayan Birch Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 05.05.2016.jpg, Birch File:Myzornis pyrrhoura -Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India -male-8.jpg, Oak File:Fire-tailed Myzornis Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 06.04.2016.jpg, Rhododendron File:Fire tailed myzornis.jpg, Fire-tailed myzornis sunbathing beside Dirang Mandala Road at

Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary Eaglenest or Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Sessa Orchid Sanctuary to the northeast and Pakhui Tiger Reserve across the Kameng ri ...

References

External links