Grey-breasted Prinia
A species of True Prinias Scientific name : Prinia hodgsonii Genus : True Prinias
Grey-breasted Prinia, A species of True Prinias
Botanical name: Prinia hodgsonii
Genus: True Prinias
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Lip Kee Yap , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
These 11-to-13-centimetre (4 to 5 in) long warblers have a longish grey tail with graduated feathers that are tipped in white, they have strong pinkish legs and a short black bill. The eye ring is orange. The sexes look alike in most populations except in P .h. pectoralis of Sri Lanka where the female can be told apart by the incomplete breast band. The underparts are buff white and the grey breast band contrasts with the white throat in the breeding season. They have a rufous wing panel and the upperparts are smoky grey during the breeding season and olive brown in the non-breeding period. Non-breeding birds have a short indistinct white supercilium and often lack the breast band. Young birds are like non-breeding adults but more rufous above. The distinctive greyer endemic race in Sri Lanka, P. h. pectoralis, retains the summer-type plumage all year round. Young birds have a pale lower mandible. The tail feathers are shorter in summer than in the non-breeding winter plumage. 
Size
11 cm
Colors
Brown
Gray
White
Feeding Habits
Grey-breasted Prinia primarily feeds on insects, such as ants, beetles, and caterpillars found in foliage. Also consumes nectar from Erythrina and Bombax blossoms, showcasing a dietary variety common among warblers.
Habitat
The grey-breasted Prinia is commonly found in a variety of habitats ranging from open woodlands and scrub jungles to bushes and hedgerows intertwined with agricultural land. It is also adapted to environments such as bamboo jungles, mangrove swamps, reedbeds, overgrown gardens, and Lantana thickets. These birds are prevalent in both sea level and mountain areas, spanning from the foothills up to 1200 meters with sightings reported up to 1800 meters in regions like Meghalaya. This bird's range broadly covers parts of the Himalayas, southern China, and extends across South Asia, including scrubby and grassy areas along cultivation fringes.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Behavior
Like most warblers, grey-breasted prinias are insectivorous. They feeds mainly on insects like ants, small beetles, caterpillars which are found among twigs and foliage of small trees. They also feeds on nectar from blossoms of trees like Erythrina and Bombax and during summer their forehead is sometimes sprinkled with pollen giving them an orange or yellowish head that can lead to mistaken identification. Usually found in pairs or small groups, they sometimes forms parties of five or more (up to twenty) individuals. It jerks its tail as it flits between branches. The breeding season begins with the rains. The male sings from a high perch and also performs aerobatic manoeuvers with rising and falling before diving with song notes. The song is a squeaky series of calls: chiwee-chiwee-chiwi-chip-chip-chip (or yousee-yousee-yousee-which-which-which-which). The nest is a cup of grass placed between leaves that are sewn together with cobwebs and resembles the nest of a common tailorbird but tends to be placed closer to the ground. The typical clutch consists of three or four eggs. The eggs vary in colour and they include glossy blue, pinkish white, greenish-blue or even pure white. They usually have reddish brown speckles at the broad end. Both parents incubate the eggs which hatch after about ten to eleven days. More than one brood may be raised in a season.
Distribution Area
This skulking passerine bird is typically found in open woodland, scrub jungle, bushes and hedgerows amidst cultivation. Also found in bamboo jungle, mangrove swamps and reeds. P. h. rufula has been observed in patches of sugarcane near Kathmandu valley. It is a common resident of the Indian peninsula. It migrates slightly south during winter. The distribution extends from Himalayan foothills to Southern India and to eastern Indian states Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam. The species distribution extends to Pakistan, Burma, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Yunnan province in southern China. Its altitude ranges from plains and goes up to 1000 meters (3280 ft) P. h. hodgsonii and up to 1800 meters (5900 ft) P. h. rufula in Meghalaya.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Cisticolas and allies Genus
True Prinias Species
Grey-breasted Prinia 
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