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Chestnut-tailed Minla Actinodura strigula Scientific name definitions

Nigel Collar and Craig Robson
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2007

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

16–18·5 cm; 14–24 g. Small grey to yellow babbler with ragged yellowish-rufous crown, barred throat, colourful wings and chestnut-edged black tail. Nominate race has loose-feathered crown yellowish-rufous, upperparts olive-grey; black primary coverts, contrasting orange-yellow and black flight-feather fringes and broadly whitish-bordered tertials; tail dull brownish-chestnut and black, with broad whitish outer tips and yellow fringe; short narrow dusky supercilium, blackish-tinged yellow lores and ear-coverts, black submoustachial stripe extending under ear-coverts; chin yellow, throat whitish with wavy black bars, underparts pale yellowish; iris brown to bright red; bill greyish-brown to black, paler below; legs brownish-grey to bluish-grey. Sexes similar. Juvenile is greyer above than adult, more washed out below, with narrower and more broken throat bars. Race simlaensis has chestnut on tail confined to basal half; yunnanensis is more slaty olive above, yellower on crown and belly, chestnut of tail darker and extending much closer to tip; castanicauda is like previous, but blacker ear-coverts, much paler, more washed-out chestnut on tail; malayana has more slate-grey ear-coverts, greyish-olive wash on breast and flanks; traii has mostly whitish lores, cheek and upper ear-coverts, brighter crown and greyer upperparts.

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.

Proposed races victoriae (Mt Victoria, in W Myanmar) and cinereigenae (Meghalaya E to SW Nagaland, in NE India) synonymized with yunnanensis. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Actinodura strigula simlaensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

N India (E Jammu and Kashmir (1), Himachal Pradesh) E to W Nepal.
SUBSPECIES

Actinodura strigula strigula Scientific name definitions

Actinodura strigula strigula
A. s. strigula

Distribution

WC Nepal E to Bhutan and NE India (W Arunachal Pradesh) and adjacent S China (S Xizang).
SUBSPECIES

Actinodura strigula yunnanensis Scientific name definitions

Actinodura strigula yunnanensis
A. s. yunnanensis

Distribution

E Assam to w Myanmar, sw China, n Laos and n Tonkin
SUBSPECIES

Actinodura strigula castanicauda Scientific name definitions

Distribution

SE Myanmar (including N Tenasserim) and NW and W Thailand.
SUBSPECIES

Actinodura strigula traii Scientific name definitions

Actinodura strigula traii
A. s. traii

Distribution

C Vietnam (SC Annam).
SUBSPECIES

Actinodura strigula malayana Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia.

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

Broadleaf evergreen forest (especially oak), mixed broadleaf-conifer forest, subalpine oak and rhododendron forest, sometimes pine forest, mixed pine-rhododendron; open forest of birch (Betula), willow (Salix), barberry (Berberis), bushes in forest, oak and rhododendron scrub or other low bushes, bamboo. At 1800–3750 m (1600–3000 m in SE Asia); locally as low as 1300 m during harsh winters in Indian Subcontinent; in Bhutan 2000–3400 m in summer in cool broadleaf, fir and hemlock forests, 1800–3200 m in winter in cool broadleaf forest and adjacent scrub-forest.

Movement

Resident; some local, rather slight seasonal altitudinal displacements. Claimed status as winter immigrant into Nagaland (NE India) requires substantiation.

Diet and Foraging

Beetles (Coleoptera), caterpillars and other insects; also berries and seeds, including those of the small myrtaceous tree Baeckia frutescens; also nectar from rhododendron flowers. Almost exclusively insectivorous in summer. Arboreal, feeding in treetops as well as low herbage; takes insects from rhododendron flowers. Outside breeding season in parties of 6–20 individuals; often joins bird waves, which frequently include other babblers such as Minla ignotincta and yuhinas.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Sings with high-pitched, slightly quavering “tui-twi ti-tu”, “twi ti-u” or “twi-twi twi twi”, with higher third note, repeated every few seconds; songs described also as sweet, clear, rising, deliberately paced “syuwééet-súéét-séét” (first part downslurred and then upslurred, second part less slurred, final note highest and unslurred), and a sweet, lisping, falling “p’séét-páséét-pásúút” (notes steeply downslurred, last slightly longer and lowest). Calls include sharp “kip” and softer, nasal “yeep” notes, weak fussing notes, then upward buzz and louder trilling buzz, e.g. “chipitchip-dzwip!itdjééééééú” (end note strongly downslurred, with jeering quality) given intermittently with song phrases.

Breeding

Mar–Aug. Nest a neat cup made of grass, bamboo leaves, moss, black fibrous and other roots, birch bark, pieces of bamboo strippings and thread-like Usnea lichen, lined with hair, rootlets, pine needles and fern stalks, placed 1·5–3 m above ground in bush or small tree. Clutch 2–4 eggs (usually 3 in India), bright pale blue, deep blue or blue-green to turquoise, lightly spotted or freckled with black or pale red or brown. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Common in Nepal, including Langtang National Park. Common in temperate zone in Bhutan, and present in Thrumshingla National Park. Fairly common in W part of Indian range, common in E; uncommon in Dehra Dun valley and present in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (both in Uttaranchal), present in Buxa Tiger Reserve (West Bengal) and present in and/or near Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh). Abundant in Natmautaung (Mt Victoria) National Park, in Myanmar. Common in China. Generally locally common to common in SE Asian range. In Laos, very common above 1800 m on Phou Laoko, in Nakai-Nam Theun National Biodiversity Conservation Area. Present in Vu Quang Nature Reserve, in Vietnam.
Distribution of the Chestnut-tailed Minla - Range Map
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Distribution of the Chestnut-tailed Minla

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Collar, N. and C. Robson (2020). Chestnut-tailed Minla (Actinodura strigula), version 1.0. 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.chtmin1.01
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