Red-billed Leiothrix
Encyclopedia
The Red-billed Leiothrix, Leiothrix lutea, is a member of the Old World babbler
family. It is a common cagebird and amongst aviculturists it goes by various names: Pekin Robin, Pekin Nightingale, Chinese Nightingale, Japanese Nightingale, and Japanese (Hill) Robin, the last two being misnomers as it is not native to Japan.
Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green, and they have a bright yellow-orange throat with a yellow chin; females are somewhat duller than males, and juveniles have black bills.
The Red-billed Leiothrix is native to Southern Asia. It has also been introduced on the Hawaiian Islands
and small populations of escapees have existed in Japan
since the 1980s.
s. This bird is very active and an excellent singer but very secretive and difficult to see.
, the Himalayas, Burma, southern China
and Hawaii
. This species is a bird of the hill forest
s, found in every type of jungle though it prefers pine
forests with bushes. It has also been found at elevations ranging from near sea level to about 7,500 feet.
s such as strawberries, ripened papaya
, guava
s and also various species of Diptera
, Mollusca
, Lepidoptera
, and Hymenoptera
. Its food is usually gathered from foliage and dead wood and it usually searches for food in lower strata of vegetation.
which consists of short powerful notes that are repeated continuously throughout the year but it is more persistent during the breeding season. This period usually lasts from early April until September and they are usually found around well watered areas. The males sing long complex songs with a wide array of syllables to attempt to attract the female.
The leiothrix is an open cup nester. The nests
of the Red-billed Leiothrix are composed of dry leaves, moss
and lichen
; however, they are not well hidden because concealment isn’t really a primary factor when determining a nest site. Several nests are found between April and June and are placed within ten feet of the ground. Dense vegetation provides the shrub nesting species protection against predators.
The eggs of the leiothrix are found in clutches of two to four eggs with an average of three. They are broad and blunt in shape with some gloss on the outside and they also have a pale blue color and red like brown spots that encircle the larger end of the eggs. The newly hatched birds have bright red skin and a rich orange red gape
.
The species was first imported from San Francisco for release on Kauai
in 1918 but by that time the leiothrix was reproducing and increasing its range on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. The leiothrix was released in Western Australia but it failed to become established. This species was also introduced in England but permanent establishment was unsuccessful. And also in France, where it did succeed. The Red-billed Leiothrix is breading in Alpes-Maritimes
, but not annual.
Old World babbler
The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
family. It is a common cagebird and amongst aviculturists it goes by various names: Pekin Robin, Pekin Nightingale, Chinese Nightingale, Japanese Nightingale, and Japanese (Hill) Robin, the last two being misnomers as it is not native to Japan.
Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green, and they have a bright yellow-orange throat with a yellow chin; females are somewhat duller than males, and juveniles have black bills.
The Red-billed Leiothrix is native to Southern Asia. It has also been introduced on the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
and small populations of escapees have existed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
since the 1980s.
Description
The leiothrix is about six inches in length, generally olive green, and has a yellow throat with orange shading on the breast. It also has a dull yellowish ring around the eye that extends to the beak. The edges of the wing feathers are brightly colored with yellow, orange, red and black and the forked tail is olive brown and blackish at the tip. The cheeks and side of the neck are a bluish gray color. The female is a lot paler than the male and lacks the red patch on the wings. It doesn’t fly frequently, except in open habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s. This bird is very active and an excellent singer but very secretive and difficult to see.
Distribution and habitat
The leiothrix is usually found in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Himalayas, Burma, southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. This species is a bird of the hill forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, found in every type of jungle though it prefers pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
forests with bushes. It has also been found at elevations ranging from near sea level to about 7,500 feet.
Ecology and behavior
The presence of the bird malaria parasite has been found in the blood of this species and was said to be first discovered by Fisher and Baldwin.Diet
This bird feeds on both plant and animal matter. It eats fruitFruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s such as strawberries, ripened papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
s and also various species of Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
, Mollusca
Mollusca
The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...
, Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
, and Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
. Its food is usually gathered from foliage and dead wood and it usually searches for food in lower strata of vegetation.
Reproduction
The leiothrix can usually be found in a group of about ten to thirty birds during the non-breeding season; however, during the breeding season the birds break off into pairs and become territorial. These birds have a songBird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
which consists of short powerful notes that are repeated continuously throughout the year but it is more persistent during the breeding season. This period usually lasts from early April until September and they are usually found around well watered areas. The males sing long complex songs with a wide array of syllables to attempt to attract the female.
The leiothrix is an open cup nester. The nests
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
of the Red-billed Leiothrix are composed of dry leaves, moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
; however, they are not well hidden because concealment isn’t really a primary factor when determining a nest site. Several nests are found between April and June and are placed within ten feet of the ground. Dense vegetation provides the shrub nesting species protection against predators.
The eggs of the leiothrix are found in clutches of two to four eggs with an average of three. They are broad and blunt in shape with some gloss on the outside and they also have a pale blue color and red like brown spots that encircle the larger end of the eggs. The newly hatched birds have bright red skin and a rich orange red gape
Gape
In bird anatomy, the gape is the interior of the open mouth of a bird and the gape flange is the region where the two mandibles join together, at the base of the beak...
.
The species was first imported from San Francisco for release on Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
in 1918 but by that time the leiothrix was reproducing and increasing its range on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. The leiothrix was released in Western Australia but it failed to become established. This species was also introduced in England but permanent establishment was unsuccessful. And also in France, where it did succeed. The Red-billed Leiothrix is breading in Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
, but not annual.