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Striated Yuhina Staphida castaniceps Scientific name definitions

Nigel Collar and Craig Robson
Version: 1.1 — Published August 18, 2021

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Field Identification

13–14 cm; 10–17 g. Small, dull yuhina with short crest, brown above, off-white below, with white-streaked rufous-tan ear-coverts; graduated tail. Nominate race has forehead and crown feathers dull rufous-brown, broadly fringed pale greyish-brown, shading on rear crown and upper nape to plainer rufous-tan; lower nape and upperparts drab greyish-brown with slight pale olive-brown tinge, and very indistinct whitish shaft streaks (virtually invisible); primary coverts, upperwing and tail brown, flight-feathers with pale edges, tail with increasingly large white tips on outer feathers; lores and narrow supercilium buffy whitish, supercilium short and eyebrow-shaped (ending not far behind eye), cheek and ear-coverts rufous-tan with faint and very narrow whitish shaft streaks, submoustachial area and underparts whitish, tinged very pale creamy-buffish; iris reddish-brown to dull crimson, ­orbital ring dotted whitish; bill pale horn-brown; legs orange-brown to brownish-flesh. Sexes similar. Juvenile is duller than adult, with shorter crest. Races differ mainly in colour of crown (rufous only on nominate) and in strength of upperparts streaks, also in tone of upperparts and underparts: rufigenis has crown to upper nape dull mid-grey with darker feather centres, but lateral crownstripe (behind eye) rufescent like ear-coverts, upperparts a shade less rufescent and more obviously marked with white shaft streaks; plumbeiceps is similar to previous, but upperparts slightly more greyish-olive, contrasting less with crown, underparts whiter, less buff-tinged; striata is also similar, but streaks on crown and upperparts more numerous and more clearly defined, extending to nape and rump, ear-coverts duller and paler, underparts as last.

Systematics History

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.

Sometimes placed in genus Staphida in past, as in HBW, but genetic data was contradictory on this matter (1, 2). Formerly treated as conspecific with S. torqueola and, normally, S. everetti. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

EBIRD GROUP (POLYTYPIC)

Striated Yuhina (Gray-crowned) Staphida castaniceps [striata Group]

Staphida castaniceps plumbeiceps
S. c. plumbeiceps +1
Staphida castaniceps striata
S. c. striata
Available illustrations of subspecies in this group
SUBSPECIES

Staphida castaniceps rufigenis Scientific name definitions

Distribution
Sikkim and Darjeeling (N West Bengal) E to Bhutan and NE India (W Arunachal Pradesh).
SUBSPECIES

Staphida castaniceps plumbeiceps Scientific name definitions

Distribution
NE India (E Arunachal Pradesh S to Nagaland), N Myanmar and S China (W Yunnan).
SUBSPECIES

Staphida castaniceps striata Scientific name definitions

Distribution
E and S Myanmar (including Tenasserim) and NW and W Thailand.
EBIRD GROUP (MONOTYPIC)

Striated Yuhina (Rufous-crowned) Staphida castaniceps castaniceps Scientific name definitions

Staphida castaniceps castaniceps
S. c. castaniceps

Distribution

NE Indian hill states (W and S of Nagaland), SE Bangladesh (Chittagong Hills, Keokradong (3) ) and W and SW Myanmar.

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Middle storey, scrub and undergrowth of broadleaf evergreen forest, shrubby undergrowth in secondary forest, lower canopy and tall undergrowth. At 300–1590 m in Indian Subcontinent, 600–1600 m in Bhutan; 600–1800 m, locally down to 180 m, in SE Asia.

Movement

Resident; some evidence suggesting seasonal altitudinal displacements, but none proven.

Diet and Foraging

Mainly insects (and often visits aphid-infested trees); also seeds, e.g. of the bamboo Dendrocalamus longispathus, and nectar. Extremely gregarious all year, with largest flocks (mean 20 individuals) in Aug–Feb, smaller (mean 15) in Mar–Apr, and smallest (mean 8) in May–Jul; sometimes associates with mixed-species foraging parties. Flocks move very quickly in sweeping movements. Forages in higher bushes and lower trees, searching among moss, lichen and loose bark on branches.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a simple series of high-pitched shrill “tchu”, “tchi” or “tchi-chi” notes. Flock-members utter continuous loud chattering, interspersed with squeaky high-pitched notes; calls of nominate race include excited, rapid, dry, short churring trills, irregular sputtery trills and chattering, often in chorus, sometimes oscillating in pitch, tempo and rhythm, also short, clear, slightly nasal peeps.

Breeding

Apr–Jul in India, Mar–Jun in Myanmar and Jan–Mar in Thailand. Nest a compact, more or less stiff, deep cup made of moss, dead leaves, leaf skeletons, grass stems, roots and fibres, lined with very fine soft grass shreds and seed stems, bark fibre, silk-like vegetable matter, palm fibre, soft black fibre, rootlets, hair, coir and moss roots (lining usually fitted within rough outer nest which more or less fills selected cavity), placed up to 2 m above ground in unoccupied bee-eater (Meropidae) or kingfisher (Alcedinidae) hole or natural hole in steep bank, often in roadside cutting, or just inside hole in small perpendicular bank (e.g. on upper side of hill path), or in cavity in rocks. Clutch 2–4 eggs, usually 3 or 4, glossy white or with faint bluish or greenish tinge, with small to large brown or reddish-brown specks and blotches often mixed with few pale purple spots; incubation by both sexes, period c. 12 days; no information on nestling period. Nests often preyed on apparently by tree-shrews (Tupaia) in Tenasserim (Myanmar).

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not assessed. Fairly common in Himalayan foothills, but not very common in Bhutan, where occasionally recorded in C & E valleys and foothills, and present in Thrumshingla National Park. In India, common in W Nagaland, Manipur and hills of Assam, and present in Buxa Tiger Reserve (West Bengal) and in (at least) Namdapha and Mouling National Parks (Arunachal Pradesh) and Dampa Tiger Reserve (Mizoram). Formerly resident in Bangladesh, but no recent records. Common in W Yunnan (China), in W Myanmar including Natmataung National Park, and in NW & W Thailand including Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary.
Distribution of the Striated Yuhina - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Striated Yuhina

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Collar, N. and C. Robson (2021). Striated Yuhina (Staphida castaniceps), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.stryuh1.01.1
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