Chinese Rubythroat
Calliope tschebaiewi
The Chinese Rubythroat (Calliope tschebaiewi) is a rare chats, old world flycatchers, and alli found in 6 countries, weighing about 23 g. The Chinese rubythroat is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae.
About the Chinese Rubythroat
The Chinese rubythroat is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is closely related to the Siberian rubythroat which however lacks the distinctive white tail-tips and white tail bases. It was also previously considered conspecific with the Himalayan rubythroat, together called the white-tailed rubythroat. It is found along the Himalayan ranges from Pakistan to Myanmar.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The male is slaty brown above with a white forehead and supercilium. The wings are brownish and the tail is blackish with white base and tips. The sides of the throat and breast are black and the centre of the chin and throat is scarlet. Each of the black feathers on the breast is narrowly fringed with grey. The belly and vent are white. The female is dull, brownish grey above with a diffuse supercilium and smoky underparts. The centre of the throat is whitish as is the short moustachial stripe.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Bhutan.
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, November, December, with peak activity in March. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Chinese Rubythroat?
- The male is slaty brown above with a white forehead and supercilium. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Chinese Rubythroat?
- The Chinese Rubythroat is a small sized bird weighing about 23 g.
- Where can you see a Chinese Rubythroat?
- The Chinese Rubythroat occurs in 6 countries, including India, China, Thailand, Bangladesh and Nepal.
- What birds look similar to a Chinese Rubythroat?
- The Chinese Rubythroat is most easily confused with the Fire-crested Alethe, the Green-backed Flycatcher and the Fraser's Forest Flycatcher.
- Is the Chinese Rubythroat endangered?
- The Chinese Rubythroat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Chinese Rubythroat for real
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