Bird Guide

Himalayan Rubythroat vs Siberian Rubythroat

Himalayan Rubythroat (Calliope pectoralis)

Himalayan Rubythroat

Calliope pectoralis

Small23 gGrassland

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 and a short whitish moustachial stripe is present in the eastern populations. The subspecies found in Afghanistan and the Tien Shan, C.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: no rights reserved · CC0
Siberian Rubythroat (Calliope calliope)

Siberian Rubythroat

Calliope calliope

Small19 gShrubland

This species is slightly larger than the European robin. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive black tail with red side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. The male has a red throat edged with a narrow black and then a broad white border. Females lack the brightly coloured throat and borders. The male has a song similar to a harder version of the garden warbler.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Siberian Rubythroat
Recorded by steve · Song · Terelj, Nalaikh District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Fernando Pelliccia · Public domain

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Himalayan Rubythroat and Siberian Rubythroat.