The reed parrotbill (Paradoxornis heudei) is a species of bird in the family Paradoxornithidae. It is found in Manchuria and eastern China and the Russian Far East. It is threatened by habitat loss.
| Reed parrotbill | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paradoxornithidae |
| Genus: | Paradoxornis |
| Species: | P. heudei
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| Binomial name | |
| Paradoxornis heudei (David, A, 1872)
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| Synonyms | |
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Calamornis heudei | |
The northern subspecies P. h. polivanovi is sometimes regarded as a separate species, the northern parrotbill.
Description
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The reed parrotbill species is known to have significantly short, wide, and deep bills.[2] The reed parrotbill is the only parrotbill to change its appearance based on whether it's in breeding season. In winter, non-breeding season, the reed parrotbill has a pinkish-cream and ash-gray forehead and neck.[3] This species has streaks of black and warm brown from above its eyes to the tip of its head.[3] The region between its eyes and bill is a little whiter than its forehead.[3] The reed parrotbill has a white-tinted stripe that runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, and finishes somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.[3] Its ears are a similar color to its crown, also known as the top of its head.[3] They have different colored streaks on their body which include black and brown.[3] The streaks become blacker the further down the body.[3] In summer, breeding season, the top of the birds head to the feathers in the upper middle of the back below the neck feathers, are a bluish-gray.[3] The lower end of the feathers are more of a dark chestnut.[3] Their ears are slightly paler, and the sides are a lighter chestnut color than they are in non-breeding season.[3]
Habitat
editReed parrotbills are native to East Asia.[2] Their habitat is known as a reedbed, which is a very wet area of reed plants between water and land.[3] Reed parrotbills rely on reedbeds because it is their natural environment that is home to both their water and food.[3] Recently, the population of this species has been declining due to degradation of reedbeds in their environment. This habitat loss has detrimentally affected the population of reed parrotbills.[4] because it's in the Paradoxornithidae family.
Diet
editReed parrotbills feed on insects, including pancake-shaped insects known as Alceridae.[3] Reed parrotbills cut through reed stems with their bills to obtain food inside, and make very loud noises while doing so.[3] They lack the hind part of the stomach that is responsible for grinding food.[3] Reed parrotbills have a difficult time digesting hard food items because they lack the gizzard muscle.[3]
Breeding
editReed parrotbill are occasionally multi-brooded meaning they raise multiple broods a season.[5] Their first laying season occurs from the middle of May to the middle of July.[5] The second occurs from the middle of July to the middle of August.[5] The third season is from the middle of August to the middle of September.[5] They are typically found in pairs during breeding season.[3] They breed mainly in the summer and in their thick nests located in China.[4] However, their habitats are being taken away because of the re-development in China which causes them to have a loss of ecosystem.[4] This directly connects to their breeding, and has caused it to decline.[4]
Conservation status
editThe reed parrotbill species is predicted to decline rapidly as a result of degradation of their habitat.[2] They are not threatened globally, it's considered "near threatened".[3] The main threats to their species are associated with clearance of reedbeds and over-harvesting reeds.[3] The population trend is decreasing fast, and there is a continuing decline of mature individuals.[4]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Paradoxornis heudei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ a b c Xiong, Li-Hu; Lu, Jian-Jian (March 2013). "Exploitation of Reedbeds by Specialist Passerines: Reed Parrotbill and Oriental Reed Warbler". The Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 125 (1): 165–173. doi:10.1676/12-040.1. ISSN 1559-4491. S2CID 86071330.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Robson, Craig (2021). "Reed Parrotbill (Calamornis heudei), version 1.1". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.reepar3.01.1. S2CID 242146504. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Reed Parrotbill". Red List. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d BOULORD, ANTHONY; MEI, ZHANG; TIAN-HOU, WANG; XIAO-MING, WANG; JIGUET, FRÉDÉRIC (September 2012). "Reproductive success of the threatened Reed Parrotbill Paradoxornis heudei in non-harvested and harvested reedbeds in the Yangtze River estuary, China". Bird Conservation International. 22 (3): 339–347. doi:10.1017/S0959270911000384. ProQuest 1041966616.
- Robson, C. (2007). Family Paradoxornithidae (Parrotbills) pp. 292 – 321 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Montreal.