Siberian Rubythroat

Overview

The Siberian rubythroat (Calliope calliope) is a small passerine bird and Old World flycatcher that belongs to the family Muscicapidae. First described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776, it is part of a group of similar small European species often referred to as chats.

Identification

• Plain brown upperparts with a distinctive black tail featuring red side patches.
• A strong white supercilium is present on the head.
• Males possess a red throat edged with a narrow black and then a broad white border, whereas females lack these bright colours.
• The male's song resembles a harder version of the garden warbler.

Habitat

This migratory species breeds in mixed coniferous forests with undergrowth in Siberia. It spends the winter in Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, and is an extremely rare vagrant to Western Europe and the Aleutian Islands.

Diet

The Siberian rubythroat is an insectivorous species that nests near the ground.

Did you know?

The genus name Calliope is derived from classical Greek meaning 'beautiful-voiced', referring to one of the Greek muses who presided over eloquence and heroic poetry.