rufous treepie
棕腹树鹊 (zōngfù shùque)
Dendrocitta vagabunda
48 cm
Large treepie, found almost exclusively on the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, but with a tiny sliver of range in the forests around the Gaoligong Mountains in western Yunnan (ssp. kinneari). Distinguished from grey treepie and collared treepie by larger size, completely black hood that reaches breast, silvery-grey wing coverts and tertials that contrast with otherwise black wing, silvery-grey tail with black tip, and tawny-brown underparts; distinguished from grey treepie by bright rufous mantle and scapulars. Bill stout, black; feet black. Electronic “ki-ko-ka” call; also harsh rattling chatter and squawks. — Craig Brelsford
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.
