Reed parrotbill

Paradoxornis heudei

Photo by Coke Smith (Coke & Som Smith Photography)

Common name:
reed parrotbill (en); bico-de-papagaio-do-Yangtzé (pt); paradoxornis du Yangtsé (fr); picoloro del Yangtsé (es); Jangtsepapageimeise (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Paradoxornithidae


Range:
This Asian species occurs in two separate areas, one in north-eastern China, and across the border into Mongolia and Russia, and another in south-eastern China, along the Yangtze river.


Size:
These birds are 20-24 cm long and weigh 17-28 g.


Habitat:
These birds are found in reed beds, in freshwater lakes, rivers and streams. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 800 m.


Diet:
Reed parrotbills mostly eat insects, but also seeds.


Breeding:
These birds nest in a cup-shaped nest, made of leaves and grasses, attached to the stalk of a reed. There the female lays 3-5 eggs, which are incubated for 12-13 days. The chicks fledge 12 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a restricted breeding range and is described as locally common, but totally dependent on reedbeds. The reed parrotbill is likely to be declining throughout its range as a result of human encroachment, development and habitat degradation within reed bed habitats due to reed harvesting.