Family Laughingthrushes and allies (Leiotrichidae)

Least Concern

Beautiful Sibia (Heterophasia pulchella)

Taxonomy

French: Garrulaxe superbe German: Prachtsibia Spanish: Sibia bonita

Taxonomy:

Sibia pulchella

Godwin-Austen

, 1874,

Barail Range, Assam, India

Has been separated in genus Malacias. Recently treated as monotypic, but races appear quite distinct. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution

H. p. nigroaurita (Kinnear, 1944) – NE India (W & C Arunachal Pradesh) and adjacent S China (SE Xizang).

H. p. pulchella (Godwin-Austen, 1874) – NE India (E Arunachal Pradesh S to Nagaland), N Myanmar and S China (W & NW Yunnan).

Descriptive notes

23 cm; 35–50 g. Blue-grey babbler with black face and wing-coverts, dull brown tertials, broad black subterminal tailband. Nominate race has lores, forehead, area... read more

Voice

Song a repeated loud strident “ti-ti-titi-tu-ti” (descending slightly towards end),... read more

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest at 1650–3000 m, occasionally to 3200 m; locally down to 300 m in... read more

Food and feeding

Insects and their larvae, including beetles (Coleoptera); seeds, including those of viburnums (Viburnum) and evergreen magnolias... read more

Breeding

Apr–Jul. Nest a cup made of moss, lined with rootlets, placed near end of horizontal branch of small tree. Eggs pale blue. No other... read more

Movements

Resident; minor altitudinal movements in winter.

Status and conservation

Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Eastern Himalayas EBA. Locally common in NE India, where present in Mouling National Park, common in Namdapha... read more

Bibliography

Public comments

Recommended citation

Collar, N. & Robson, C. (2020). Beautiful Sibia (Heterophasia pulchella). 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 https://www.hbw.com/node/59666 on 26 February 2020).

Scientific classification

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Leiotrichidae

— Show family text —

Recently split from a broader Timaliidae. To date, traditionally recognized genera Cutia, Kupeornis, Phyllanthus, Turdoides, Garrulax, Babax (now in Garrulax), Heterophasia, Leiothrix, Minla, Liocichla and Actinodura have been recovered as members of a clade separate from those now placed in Timaliidae or Pellorneidae; however, Garrulax, Actinodura, Minla, Heterophasia and Turdoides, as typically circumscribed, have also been discovered to be polyphyletic. As a result, genetic data available to date#R #R #R #R #R (many species have not been screened) can be interpreted in various ways, permitting for a smaller number of larger genera, or many more genera characterized by fewer species, so listing presented here is provisional and dependent on additional molecular data for most of the as yet untested taxa. Family name has been spelt in variety of different ways; above is the original spelling, which is correctly formed and so must be used#R.