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Long-tailed Bush Warbler Locustella caudata Scientific name definitions

Steve Madge
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2006

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

16·5–18 cm; c. 18 g. A large, almost uniformly dark terrestrial bush-warbler, appearing all dark in gloom of forest habitat; vanes of the long tail (twelve feathers) soon become frayed and broken. Plumage is reddish-brown above, darkest on crown and nape, which have black scaling at feather tips; weak greyish-white supercilium enhanced by dusky loral stripe, merging with greyish side of head and neck; chin and throat whitish, with whitish and blackish scaling extending into greyish breast; remainder of underparts brownish; iris reddish-brown or brown; upper mandible blackish, lower mandible light grey; legs dark brownish-horn. Distinguished from L. accentor in particular by larger size, possession of twelve (not ten) rectrices, which, moreover, often appear very frayed and untidy, also by much stronger feet. Sexes alike. Juvenile is darker reddish-brown overall, with throat merely paler brownish, rather than whitish. Races differ chiefly in tail length, nominate has longest tail; unicolor darker above, more rufous below, with shorter tail; malindangensis differs from previous in darker sides of face, and whiter throat.

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.

Previously placed in Bradypterus. Affinities uncertain; perhaps closest to L. accentor, which it resembles closely both in plumage and in song, but the two differ significantly in features of the tail and in foot size. Vocalizations of nominate race provoked little reaction when played to unicolor on Mindanao; investigation of relationships between these taxa required. Race malindangensis incorporated in unicolor by some authorities, and their songs are not known to differ (1). Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Locustella caudata caudata Scientific name definitions

Locustella caudata caudata
L. c. caudata

Distribution

N Luzon, in Philippines.
SUBSPECIES

Locustella caudata malindangensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

N Zamboanga Peninsula (W Mindanao), in S Philippines.
SUBSPECIES

Locustella caudata unicolor Scientific name definitions

Locustella caudata unicolor
L. c. unicolor

Distribution

Mindanao (except Zamboanga Peninsula), in S Philippines.

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

Occupies forest undergrowth and dense secondary growth in forest clearings; occurs above 700 m.

Movement

Resident.

Diet and Foraging

No dietary information available other than that species feeds on invertebrates. Forages alone or in pairs, on or close to ground, often cocking tail; if disturbed, runs rodent-like under dense cover.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song, generally delivered from low down within dense cover, differs somewhat between the two islands, on Luzon a repeated high-pitched insect-like “to-to-zeeee” or “trp,trp,trrzzz”, while song on Mindanao transcribed as “zeeeuuu” or “zeee-zuuu”. Alarm call is an abrupt, loud staccato “chip”, sometimes repeated as a run of 3 or 4 notes when agitated.

Breeding

Birds with enlarged gonads in Feb and fledglings found in Feb, May and Sept. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Luzon EBA and Mindanao and the Eastern Visayas EBA. Not common; generally reported as uncommon, this impression no doubt exaggerated by its skulking behaviour; extremely difficult to see. On Luzon, reported from NW (Benguet, Ifugao and Nuava Vizcaya Provinces) and NE (Auroro Province). On Mindanao, race unicolor has been found on Mt Apo and Mt Busa, in S part of the island, and malindangensis occurs on Mt Malindang, in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Forest destruction is the biggest threat to this species’ survival, although initial clearing of patches of forest should benefit it as undergrowth flourishes.
Distribution of the Long-tailed Bush Warbler - Range Map
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  • Migration
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Distribution of the Long-tailed Bush Warbler

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Madge, S. (2020). Long-tailed Bush Warbler (Locustella caudata), 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.ltbwar1.01
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