BIRD SPECIES

Red-billed Leiothrix

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Leiothrix lutea

The Red-billed Leiothrix is a plump, brightly colored babbler. It is a very active and an excellent singer but it is very secretive and difficult to see.

It is about 6 inches in length.

Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes that extends to the beak.

They are generally olive green, and have a yellow throat with orange shading on the breast. The edges of the wing feathers are brightly colored with yellow, orange, red and black and the forked tail is olive brown and blackish at the tip. Cheeks and side of the neck are a bluish gray.

Females are somewhat duller than males and lack the red patch on the wings.

Juveniles have black bills.

SONG: Consists of short powerful notes that are repeated continuously throughout the year but it is more persistent during the breeding season.

The males sing long complex songs with a wide array of syllables to attempt to attract the female.

 Feeds on animal matter. It eats fruits such as strawberries, ripened papaya, guavas and also various species of Diptera, Mollusca, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera.

Its food is usually gathered from foliage and dead wood and it usually searches for food in lower strata of vegetation.

Found in every type of jungle though it prefers pine forests with bushes.

Native to Asia, from the eastern China west to the Himalayas; introduced to Hawaii, Japan, Reunion Island, and parts of Europe.

It is an open cup nester. Nest is composed of dry leaves, moss and lichen; however, they are not well hidden because concealment is not really a primary factor when determining a nest site.

Dense vegetation provides the shrub nesting species protection against predators.

The female lays 2 - 4 eggs, with an average of 3. The eggs are broad and blunt in shape with some gloss on the outside and have a pale blue color and red like brown spots that encircle the larger end.

SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://ebird.org