Family Bush-warblers (Scotocercidae)

Least Concern

Pale-footed Bush-warbler (Hemitesia pallidipes)

figure, drawing, illustration of Pale-footed Bush-warbler (Hemitesia pallidipes)

Taxonomy

French: Bouscarle à pattes claires German: Weißbauch-Stutzschwanz Spanish: Tesia paticlara
Taxonomy:

Phylloscopus pallidipes

Blanford

, 1872,

Sikkim, north India

.

Previously placed in Cettia, and in the past in Urosphena. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution
  • H. p. pallidipes (Blanford, 1872) – Himalayas from N India (Uttarakhand) E to N Myanmar and S China (W Yunnan).
  • H. p. laurentei (La Touche, 1921) – C & E Myanmar, S China (SE Yunnan, C & W Guangxi)#R, NW Thailand, N & C Laos and Vietnam (N & W Tonkin, S Annam).
  • H. p. osmastoni (E. J. O. Hartert, 1908) – Andaman Is (South Andaman).

    • Descriptive notes

    11–12·5 cm. A medium-sized to large bush-warbler with square-ended tail, short rounded wing with very short ­primary projection. Nominate race is cold olive-brown... read more

    Voice

    Song a loud, rich and explosive “zip…zip-tschuk-o-tschuk” or “wi wi-chu’ti’ti’chi”, fairly similar... read more

    Habitat

    Ground-level vegetation, bracken-covered slopes and tall grasses in clearings, secondary scrub and... read more

    Food and feeding

    Food items not well known; presumably invertebrates and larvae. Secretive and very skulking, usually heard more often than seen. Forages on... read more

    Breeding

    Season May–Jul. Nest a ball of grasses or a cup of bamboo leaves, grass heads and plant fibres and stems, placed low down in bush... read more

    Movements

    Resident or altitudinal migrant, moving to lower levels in foothills and plains after breeding.... read more

    Status and conservation

    Not globally threatened. Locally common or fairly common in Nepal; uncommon in N India, Bhutan and throughout most of SE Asian range; rare in Laos. Occurs in several national... read more

    Recommended citation

    Clement, P. (2019). Pale-footed Bush-warbler (Hemitesia pallidipes). 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/58735 on 19 February 2019).