The ashy-throated parrotbill, (Sinosuthora alphonsiana ), is a parrotbill. In old sources, it may be called Alphonse's crow-tit; though superficially resembling a tit it is not a member of the Paridae. The native range of this species extends from south-west China to northern Vietnam, and it might have become naturalised in one area in Italy.
An omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThis is a medium-sized tawny-coloured parrotbill with the large bill typical of these birds. The specific epithet commemorates the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards.
Formerly placed with the typical warblers (Sylvia ) in the Sylviidae, the Old World babblers in the Timaliidae, or the tits and chickadees in the Paridae, they are now thought to belong to a distinct parrotbill family Paradoxornithidae.
They might be less close to the great parrotbill (Conostoma oemodium ) than to Chrysomma, or to the fulvettas (Fulvetta ) which were often included in the wastebin genus Alcippe. Another relative might be the wrentit (Chamaea fasciata ), the only known American member of the Paradoxornithidae in the modern circumscription. The former two, and occasionally also the wrentit, were traditionally considered typical warblers or Old World babblers.
Together with the other lineages of parrotbills, these and the golden-breasted fulvetta (Lioparus chrysotis ) and species in the genus Rhopophilus form an Asian counterpart to the westward radiation of the typical warblers. Rather than two genera – Paradoxornis and the monotypic Conostoma – the parrotbills are better considered several independent lineages which show pronounced convergent evolution, due to adaptation to reedbed habitat and a more granivorous diet than their skulking warbler-like ancestor. In this case, the ashy-throated parrotbill would probably be assigned to genus Sinoparadoxornis.
Contrary to their western Eurasian relatives (the typical warblers), these East Asian birds are small omnivores adapted to living in reed beds. In its native range, the ashy-throated parrotbill inhabits bamboo stands and areas with tall grasses. The parrotbills in Brabbia Swamp Nature Reserve inhabit common reed (Phragmites australis ) beds and drier land overgrown with meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria ), grey willow (Salix cinerea ) and giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea ).
It feeds on arthropods, seeds and buds; in winter, the Italian birds seem to sustain themselves on insects that hibernate in reed stalks. As in its relatives in (sub)genus Sinoparadoxornis, its eggs are small by parrotbill standards, whitish- to light-blue and unspotted.
This bird will disappear if wetlands are drained, but its range is considerable and much of its habitat is remote and little accessed. It is thus considered a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.
