Spectacled Barwing Actinodura ramsayi Scientific name definitions

A very distinctively plumaged, long-tailed barwing, with a bright white eye-ring, this species is widely distributed across southern China, northern Indochina, and eastern Myanmar. It regularly joins mixed-species foraging flocks, but most aspects of the Spectacled Barwing’s biology and ecology are very poorly known. BirdLife International splits the three recognized subspecies into two species, labeled Eastern Spectacled Barwing and Western Spectacled Barwing, neither of which is globally threatened, although the latter species has a comparatively small range in the border region of Myanmar and northwest Thailand. Central and southern Laos, and parts of adjacent northern Thailand, are occupied by a potentially undescribed subspecies.

Unstreaked barwing with long, graduated tail, densely barred on wings and tail, with plain buff underparts, and a bold white eyering.

Streaked Barwing (A. souliei) is extensively streaked below, as well as on the rump and mantle, with hardly any pale eye-ring. Black-crowned Barwing (A. sodangorum) is closer to the present species in general morphology, but has a black cap, broad blackish streaks on the throat, a more extensive gray face, more prominently barred tail, and more contrastingly patterned wing-coverts.

Nestling

Undescribed.

Juvenile

Apparently undescribed.

Adult

Forehead milky rufous-buff, shading quickly to pale rufous-tinged olive grayish on upperparts. The tail is rufescent olive-gray, evenly and narrowly barred blackish gray and with narrow white tips. Primary-coverts black, upperwing and coverts otherwise strongly barred with black, base colour pale grayish brown on coverts and scapulars, rufous-tan on flight feathers but fading distally. Lores to cheeks blackish, face (rear supercilium, ear-coverts and lower submoustachial area) milky brownish gray; chin and upper submoustachial area milky rufous-buff, shading to plain buff on underparts, but the mid-belly is white. Sexes alike.

No published information.

Bill

Blackish to pale dusky horn, with a slightly paler tip.

Iris

Brown, with a bold white orbital ring.

Legs and Feet

Pale plumbeous to greenish gray.

Linear Measurements

Overall length 23.5–24.5 cm.

Mass

35.5–41.3 g (mean 38.4 g, n = 6) (1 Melville, D. S., and P. D. Round (1984). Weights and gonad conditions of some Thai birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 104(4):127–138. Close ).

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

The three subspecies have occasionally been treated as two species, monotypic Western Spectacled Barwing (A. ramsayi) and Eastern Spectacled Barwing (A. radcliffei), with two subspecies (2 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Differences are in overall coloration, grayer in the west, and more rufous in the east, as well as in the strength and extent of the barring above, and details of the face pattern.

Three subspecies recognized.

A. r. ramsayi (Walden, 1875)—southeast Myanmar (Kayah State) and northwest Thailand.

A. r. radcliffei Harington, 1910—east-central and eastern Myanmar. Adult has forehead and crown pale chestnut or rufous-buff, lores and cheeks rich dark brown, sides of head including ear-coverts dark gray; upperparts rufescent-gray, tail slightly darker with narrow blackish bars, outer rectrices with small whitish tips; upperwing with primary-coverts black, secondary-coverts and flight feathers mostly pale rufous-gray with prominent black bars; chin and upper submoustachial area pale rufous-buff, shading to plain buff on throat and underparts, mid-belly generally paler. Differs from the nominate in its much richer cinnamon (rather than buffy) underparts; extensive pale chestnut (versus more restricted buffy-rufous) on forehead; lightly barred rufous (versus bold stone-and-black-barred) greater coverts, with much more extensive rufous on the outer vanes of the flight feathers; more ochreish, less grey mantle to rump; and more rufous, less strongly barred tail (2 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

A. r. yunnanensis Bangs & J. C. Phillips, 1914—southern China (in southeast Yunnan, southwest Guizhou, and western Guangxi) and northern Vietnam (in Tonkin). More rufescent above and below, with a uniformly buffy-rufous crown and nape, black lores, and often shows narrow blackish throat streaks (2 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

The race that occurs in northern and central Laos, and the eastern part of northernmost Thailand, is unknown, being like A. r. yunnanensis but grayer above, with buffy rufous restricted to the forehead (2 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

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EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Spectacled Barwing (Eastern) Actinodura ramsayi radcliffei/yunnanensis

Available illustrations of subspecies in this group

• eBird map
• 12 photos
• 0 recordings

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SUBSPECIES

Actinodura ramsayi radcliffei Scientific name definitions

Distribution

EC and E Myanmar.

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SUBSPECIES

Actinodura ramsayi yunnanensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

S China (SE Yunnan, SW Guizhou, W Guangxi) and N Vietnam (Tonkin).

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EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Spectacled Barwing (Western) Actinodura ramsayi ramsayi Scientific name definitions

• eBird map
• 68 photos
• 4 recordings

Distribution

SE Myanmar (Kayah State) and NW Thailand.

The species’ closest relative appears to be Rusty-fronted Barwing (A. egertoni), a sister relationship being well supported by a recent phylogenetic reconstruction (3 Dong, F., Wu, F., Liu, L.-M. and Yang, X.-J. (2010). Molecular phylogeny of the barwings (Aves: Timaliidae: Actinodura), a paraphyletic group, and its taxonomic implications. Zoological Studies 49(5):703–709. Close ).

A. ramsayi was named for Col. Robert George Wardlaw Ramsay (1852–1921), member of the British Army in India and Burma during 1872–1882, and President of the British Ornithologists’ Union in 1913–1918. The subspecies name ramsayi honors Lt.-Col. Henry Delmé-Radcliffe (1866–1947), part of the British Army in Burma in 1909.

Nothing known.

Occurs in east-central, eastern, and southeast Myanmar (4 Oates, E. W. (1883). A Handbook to the Birds of British Burmah, Including Those Found in the Adjoining State of Karennee. Volume 1. R. H. Porter, London, UK. Close , 5 Rippon, G. (1897). An additional list of birds obtained at Kalaw, Southern Shan States, during April-May 1896. Ibis 39(1): 1–5. Close , 6 Rippon, G. (1901). On the birds of the southern Shan States, Burma. Ibis 43(4):525–561. Close , 7 Wickham, P. F. (1929). Notes on the birds of the Upper Burma hills. Part 1. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 33(4):800–827. Close , 8 Meyer de Schauensee, R. (1934). Zoological results of the Third de Schauensee Siamese Expedition, Part II. Birds from Siam and the southern Shan States. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 86:165–280. Close , 9 Meyer de Schauensee, R. (1946). On two collections of birds from the Southern Shan States, Burma. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 98:99–122. Close , 10 Smythies, B. E. (1986). The Birds of Burma. Third revised edition. Nimrod Press, Liss, UK. Close ), northwest Thailand (11 Deignan, H. G. (1963). Checklist of the birds of Thailand. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 226:1–263. Close , 12 Lekagul, B., and P. D. Round (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Thailand. Saha Karn Bhaet Co., Bangkok, Thailand. Close , 13 Treesucon, U., and W. Limparungpatthanakij (2018). Birds of Thailand. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), and across southern China (in southeast Yunnan, southwest Guizhou, and west Guangxi 14 Uchida, S. and Kuroda, N. (1916). Some new additions to the avifauna of Yunnan. Annotationes Zool. Jap. 9:133–144. Close , 15 La Touche, J. D. D. (1923). On the birds of south-east Yunnan, S.W. China. Part 1. Ibis (11)5:300–332. Close , 16 Cheng Tsohsin, and Cheng Paolai (1960). [Studies on birds from southern Yunnan II]. Acta Zoologica Sinica 12(2):250–277. (In Chinese). Close , 17 Wu Zhikang, Lin Qiwei, Yang Jiongli, Liu Jichen, and Wu Lu (1986). [The Avifauna of Guizhou]. Guizhou People’s Publishing House, Guiyang, Guizhou, China. (In Chinese.) Close , 18 Tso-hsin, C. (1987). A Synopsis of the Avifauna of China. Science Press and Paul Parey, Beijing, China; Hamburg and Berlin, Germany. [In English with Chinese index]. Close , 19 Lee Kwok Shing, M. Lau Wai-neng, J. R. Fellowes, and Chan Bosco Pui Lok (2006). Forest bird fauna of South China: notes on current distribution and status. Forktail 22:23–38. Close ) to northern and central Laos (20 Tizard, R., P. Davidson, Khamkhoun Khounboline, and Khounmee Salivong (1997). A Wildlife and Habitat Survey of Nam Ha and Nam Kong Protected Areas, Luang Namtha Province, Lao PDR. Wildlife Conservation Society, Vientiane. Close , 21 Davidson, P. J. (1998). A Wildlife and Habitat Survey of Nam Et and Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Areas, Houapanh Province, Lao PDR. Wildlife Conservation Society, Vientiane, Laos. Close , 22 Evans, T. D., and R. J. Timmins (1998). Records of birds from Laos during January–July 1994. Forktail 13:69–96. Close , 23 Showler, D. A., P. Davidson, Khounmee Salivong, and Khamkhoun Khounboline (1998). A Wildlife and Habitat Survey of Nam Xam National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Houaphanh Province, Lao PDR. Wildlife Conservation Society, Vientiane. Close ), and northern Vietnam (Tonkin) (24 Kinnear, N. B. (1929). On the birds collected by Mr. H. Stevens in northern Tonkin in 1923-24. Ibis 71(1):107–150; 71(2):292–344. Close , 25 David-Beaulieu, A. (1944). Les Oiseaux du Tranninh. L’École Supérieure des Sciences de l’Université Indochinoise, Hanoi. Close , 26 Tordoff, A. W., Lê Manh Hùng, Nguyên Quang Truòng, and S. R. Swan (2002). A Rapid Field Survey of Van Ban District, Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. BirdLife International Vietnam Programme, The Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Fauna & Flora International Vietnam Programme, Hanoi, Vietnam. Close , 27 Craik, R., and L. Q. Minh (2018). Birds of Vietnam. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

None definitely known.

Found in forest edge, second growth, scrub and grass, taller undergrowth in broadleaf evergreen forest, and bamboo; in Laos it is commoner in Fokienia-dominated forest than in dry evergreen forest. Overall it is mainly found at elevations of 1,000–2,500 m, locally down to 450 m in China and to 610 m in Myanmar, and the nominate race occurs principally at 1,200–2,100 m.

Resident.

Foraging behavior is unstudied and largely undescribed. Typically occurs in pairs or small groups, often associating with other species, including other babblers, in bird waves.

No information on diet; presumably invertebrates and some vegetable matter.

Song a quite fast, rather mournful, high-pitched, bouncing, descending iee-iee-iee-iuu; sometimes accompanied by (perhaps from female) a high-pitched phrase of 2–3 notes, ewh ewh ewh. Calls include low harsh baoh and berrh notes.

Very little known. Season at least March–April in Myanmar (28 Cook, J. P. (1913). A list of Kalaw birds, with bird-nesting notes. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 22(1):260–270. Close , 29 Livesey, T.R. (1935). Nidification of the Shan States Bar-Wing (Actinodura r. ramsayi (Walden)). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 38(1):187–188. Close ); males handled in Thailand in Jan and Apr were in breeding condition (1 Melville, D. S., and P. D. Round (1984). Weights and gonad conditions of some Thai birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 104(4):127–138. Close ). No information from elsewhere in the species’ range. One nest was a cup made of yellowish roots, lined with finer roots, and with exterior interweaving of feathery material from the half-dried creeper in which it was placed, above some rocks (29 Livesey, T.R. (1935). Nidification of the Shan States Bar-Wing (Actinodura r. ramsayi (Walden)). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 38(1):187–188. Close ). Clutch two eggs, pale blue-green with a few bold blotches and scrolls of purplish chocolate (29 Livesey, T.R. (1935). Nidification of the Shan States Bar-Wing (Actinodura r. ramsayi (Walden)). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 38(1):187–188. Close ). No other information.

Because the three races are treated as two species by BirdLife International, their conservation status is evaluated separately on the IUCN list, and it consequently makes sense to discuss each taxon separately below. Prior to the analysis of del Hoyo and Collar (2 del Hoyo, J., and N. J. Collar (2016). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), BirdLife considered the single species to be Least Concern.

A. r. radcliffei and A. r. yunnanensis Not globally threatened (Least Concern). A large range, within which it is fairly common to locally common. Fairly common in southern China, but recently recorded only in Diding Nature Reserve (Guangxi) and in none of 53 other sites surveyed (19 Lee Kwok Shing, M. Lau Wai-neng, J. R. Fellowes, and Chan Bosco Pui Lok (2006). Forest bird fauna of South China: notes on current distribution and status. Forktail 22:23–38. Close ). Common in much of rest of range. Frequent in Nakay-Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area, in Laos (22 Evans, T. D., and R. J. Timmins (1998). Records of birds from Laos during January–July 1994. Forktail 13:69–96. Close ), but scarce in Tam Dao National Park, in Vietnam. Although its global population has not been quantified, it appears to be slowly declining as a result of habitat destruction and fragmentation.

A. r. ramsayi Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Fairly common. Common in Doi Inthanon National Park, in Thailand, where also known from Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park. The global population size has not been quantified, but it is considered to be in slow decline owing to continuing destruction and fragmentation of its habitat.