Hodgson's Frogmouth Batrachostomus hodgsoni Scientific name definitions

22–27 cm; 51 g. A small Batrachostomus with well-marked sexual dichromatism , but little variation in coloration of adult of either sex. Male rufous-brown above, heavily marked with black, with white spots on scapulars and upper mantle, where may form collar; black, white and rufous pattern below. Differs from B. moniliger in more rufous, less grey, coloration and in stronger patterning on underparts. Female more rufous and with fewer pale spots . Juvenile has soft-textured plumage and differs from adult (both sexes) in coloration, with most of upperparts light rufous, evenly barred with blackish-brown, underparts mainly light buff with narrow dark barring, and rufous tinge on sides of breast.

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.

Hills and lower mountains of NE India (Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh S to Manipur and Tripura) and SE Bangladesh through N, W & E Myanmar to SW China (SW Yunnan), NW Thailand, NW & S Laos and C Vietnam (Annam).

Subtropical evergreen forest on hills and lower montane slopes, at 300–1900 m elevation.

Apparently sedentary.

Diet consists of moths, beetles and other large insects. Recent accounts suggest that food is hawked in air or taken on ground or from branches ; older accounts of feeding behaviour probably unreliable.

Call of female (probably territorial song) is a single long whistle, which usually rises and then descends to initial pitch; male call is series of up to ten short, soft rising whistles, e.g. “whaaeee”, at intervals of 1–7 seconds.

Season Apr–Jul in NE Indian region; laying in Annam in late Feb or early Mar. Nest  is a small, neat pad composed mainly of the birds’ down, placed on bare or nearly bare horizontal branch  c. 1·5–5 m above ground. Clutch usually 2 eggs, sometimes 1; male incubates during daytime, female in evening twilight and for 1–2 hours before dawn; incubation  and fledging periods and care of young undescribed; nestling has (second?) down bright rufous or dull buff with darker barring.

Not globally threatened. Apparently rare in many parts of E Himalayas and foothills, and certainly rare in Bangladesh; formerly rare in much of Myanmar, except in Chin Hills; uncommon in Thailand, but not regarded as a threatened species there. Current status poorly known throughout range.