White-collared yuhina

Yuhina diademata

Photo by David Blank (Animal Diversity Web)

Common name:

white-collared yuhina (en); iuína-de-diadema (pt); yuhina à diadème (fr); yuhina diademada (es); diademyuhina (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Timaliidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in China, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Size:

This large yuhina is 14,5-19 cm long and weighs 19-24 g.

Habitat:

White-collared yuhinas are mostly found in tropical and subtropical moist, mountain forests, especially open broadleaved evergreen forests, but also in secondary growth and tee plantations. They are present at altitudes of 800-3.600 m.

Diet:

They forage in pair, or in small flocks, mostly eating insects but also seeds and rhododendron nectar.

Breeding:

White-collared yuhinas breed in May-September. They build a cup-shaped nest made of dry leaves, grass and roots, plastered with cobweb or moss. The nest is placed in a bush, grass or small tree, 0,2-1,5 m above the ground. There the female lays 2-3 pale green eggs with rust-coloured spots which she incubates alone for 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, it is described as common to very common in China and locally fairly common in Myanmar and Vietnam. The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.