Hume’s Bush Warbler Horornis brunnescens occurs in China only around Yalu Zangbu River (upper Brahmaputra River) in southeast Tibet. ID & COMPARISON Similar to Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler H. acanthizoides. Breeding ranges disjunct and remarkable songs different. Hume’s sings with 3–4 ascending notes, followed by repeated 2–3 notes on different pitch. Hume’s song lasts about 15 seconds, Yellow-bellied’s about a minute. Trill of Hume’s usually much shorter than Yellow-bellied. Plumages usually inseparable in the field, but Hume’s sometimes paler yellow below than Yellow-bellied. Calls tret. — Craig Brelsford
THE CETTIID WARBLERS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com covers most of the species in China in the family Cettiidae. Click any link:
Yellow-bellied Warbler Abroscopus superciliaris
Rufous-faced Warbler A. albogularis
Black-faced Warbler A. schisticeps
Mountain Tailorbird Phyllergates cuculatus
Broad-billed Warbler Tickellia hodgsoni
Japanese Bush Warbler Horornis diphone
Manchurian Bush Warbler H. borealis
Brown-flanked Bush Warbler H. fortipes
Hume’s Bush Warbler H. brunnescens
Yellow-bellied Bush Warbler H. acanthizoides
Aberrant Bush Warbler H. flavolivaceus
Grey-bellied Tesia Tesia cyaniventer
Slaty-bellied Tesia T. olivea
Cetti’s Warbler Cettia cetti
Chestnut-crowned Bush Warbler C. major
Grey-sided Bush Warbler C. brunnifrons
Chestnut-headed Tesia C. castaneocoronata
Asian Stubtail Urosphena squameiceps
Pale-footed Bush Warbler U. pallidipes
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
