Accentor

Last updated

Accentor
Dunnock (Prunella modularis occidentalis).jpg
Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Prunellidae
Richmond, 1908
Genus: Prunella
Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Motacilla modularis
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text.

Synonyms

Laiscopus

The accentors are a genus of birds in the family Prunellidae, which is endemic to the Old World. [1] This small group of closely related passerines are all in the genus Prunella. All but the dunnock and the Japanese accentor are inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia; these two also occur in lowland areas, as does the Siberian accentor in the far north of Siberia. These birds are not strongly migratory, but they will leave the coldest parts of their range in winter and make altitudinal movements. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy and etymology

The genus Prunella was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1816 with the dunnock (Prunella modularis) as the type species. [3] [4] Although the genus is usually used for all the accentors, the alpine accentor and Altai accentor are sometimes separated into the genus Laiscopus. [5]

Harrison [6] used the group name dunnock for all of the species, not just Prunella modularis (thus e.g. Japanese dunnock for P. rubida); this usage is based on the oldest known name for any of the species (old English dun-, brown, + -ock, small: "little brown bird" [7] ). Accentor derives from the old scientific name for the Alpine accentor (Accentor collaris). It comes from Late Latin, meaning "sing with another" (ad + cantor). [8] The genus name Prunella is from the German Braunelle, "dunnock", a diminutive of braun, "brown". [9]

Description

These are small, fairly drab species superficially similar, but not closely related to, sparrows. They are 14 to 18 cm in length, and weigh between 25 and 35 g. [2] However, accentors have thin sharp bills, reflecting their diet of ground-dwelling insects in summer, augmented with small seeds and berries in winter. They may also swallow grit and sand to help their stomach break up these seeds. [5] [10]

Most of the species live together in flocks. The dunnock is an exception since it prefers to be solitary except when feeding. The dunnock also earned a nickname of "shuffle-wing" since it most strongly displays the characteristic wing flicks used during courtship and other displays. [10]

Accentors may have one to three broods a year. Courtship consists of a great deal of song from the males, which may include short lark-like song flights to attract a mate. In most species, the male and female share in the nest making, with the dunnocks again being an exception; their males have no part in nest building or incubation. They build neat cup nests and lay 3–6 unspotted green or blue eggs. [5] [2] The eggs are incubated for around 12 days. The young are fed by both parents and take an additional 12 days or so to fledge. [5]

Habitat

Their typical habitat is mountainous regions in an area far above the tree-line, but below the snow-line. The Alpine accentor has been observed at nearly 8,000 m (26,000 ft) altitude in the Himalaya and the Altai and Robin accentors at 5,500 m (18,000 ft); [5] however, most accentors breed in scrub vegetation at lower levels. Most species are altitudinal migrants, descending to lower altitudes to spend the winter, but some are long-distance migrants, most notably the Siberian accentor, which migrates 3,000–5,000 km from northern Siberia to China and Korea. [5] Accentors spend the majority of their time in the undergrowth and even when flushed, stay low to the ground until reaching cover. [5]

Species list

Twelve species are currently accepted: [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian stonechat</span> Species of bird

The Siberian stonechat or Asian stonechat is a recently validated species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). Like the other thrush-like flycatchers, it was often placed in the Turdidae in the past. It breeds in the East Palearctic including in easternmost Europe and winters in the Old World tropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnock</span> Species of bird

The dunnock is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is the most widespread member of the accentor family; most other accentors are limited to mountain habitats. Other, largely archaic, English names for the dunnock include hedge accentor, hedge sparrow, hedge warbler, and titling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine accentor</span> Species of bird

The alpine accentor is a small passerine bird in the family Prunellidae, which is native to Eurasia and North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated accentor</span> Species of bird

The black-throated accentor is a small passerine bird found in the Ural, Tian Shan and Altai Mountains. It is migratory, wintering in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Ladakh</span>

Ladakh is the home to endemic Himalayan wildlife, such as the bharal, yak, Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan wolf and the iconic snow leopard. Hemis National Park, Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, and Karakorum Wildlife Sanctuary are protected wildlife areas of Ladakh. The Mountain Institute, the Ladakh Ecological Development Group and the Snow Leopard Conservancy work on ecotourism in rural Ladakh. For such an elevated, arid area, Ladakh has great diversity of birds — 318 species have been recorded. Many of these birds reside at or seasonally breed in high-altitude wetlands, such as Tso Moriri, or near rivers and water sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian accentor</span> Small passerine bird that breeds in northern Russia

The Siberian accentor is a small passerine bird that breeds in northern Russia from the Ural Mountains eastwards across Siberia. It is migratory, wintering in Korea and eastern China, with rare occurrences in western Europe and northwestern North America. Its typical breeding habitat is subarctic deciduous forests and open coniferous woodland, often close to water, although it also occurs in mountains and spruce taiga. It inhabits bushes and shrubs in winter, frequently near streams, but may also be found in dry grassland and woods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree martin</span> Species of bird

The tree martin is a member of the swallow family of passerine birds. It breeds in Australia, mostly south of latitude 20°S and on Timor island. It is migratory, wintering through most of Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia east of the Wallace Line and the Solomon Islands. It is a vagrant to New Zealand, where it has bred, and New Caledonia. This species is frequently placed in the genus Hirundo as Hirundo nigricans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altai accentor</span> Species of bird

The Altai accentor is a species of bird in the family Prunellidae. It is also known as the rufous-streaked accentor or Himalayan accentor. It breeds in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia; it winters in the southern Tian Shan and Himalayan ranges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radde's accentor</span> Species of bird

Radde's accentor is a species of bird in the family Prunellidae. It is found in mountainous parts of Yemen and northern Southwest Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin accentor</span> Species of bird

The robin accentor is a species of bird in the family Prunellidae. It is found in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China, at altitudes between about 3,000 and 5,500 m. It is a brown bird with a grey head and an orange-red breast. It is common in parts of its range and its conservation status has been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-breasted accentor</span> Species of bird

The rufous-breasted accentor is passerine bird in the family Prunellidae, endemic to the Himalayas, descending in the winter to lower-to-middle altitudes. It is found in Afghanistan, Bhutan, Tibet, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.

<i>Vireo</i> (genus) Genus of birds

Vireo is a genus of small passerine birds restricted to the New World. Vireos typically have dull greenish plumage, but some are brown or gray on the back and some have bright yellow underparts. They resemble wood warblers apart from their slightly larger size and heavier bills, which in most species have a very small hook at the tip. The legs are stout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katon-Karagay National Park</span> National park in Kazakhstan

Katon-Karagay National Park is the largest national park in Kazakhstan, located on the eastern edge of the country, in the Southern Altai Mountains. The park fills the west side of the "X" where the borders of Kazakhstan, Russia, China, and Mongolia meet. The highest peak in Siberia, is on the Russian border in the Katun Range. The park is in Katonkaragay District of East Kazakhstan Region, 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) southeast of the capital city of Astana.

References

  1. Liu, B. et al. (2017) Explosive radiation and spatial expansion across the cold environments of the Old World in an avian family. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3136
  2. 1 2 3 McClure, H. Elliott (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. p. 184. ISBN   1-85391-186-0.
  3. Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 43.
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 3.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hatchwell, B.J. (2005). "Family Prunellidae (Accentors)" . In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 10: Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 496–513. ISBN   978-84-87334-72-6.
  6. Harrison, An Atlas of the Birds of the Western Palaearctic, 1982
  7. Chambers Dictionary
  8. "Accentor" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  9. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. p.  318. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  10. 1 2 Burton, Maurice; Burton, Robert (1974). The Funk & Wagnalls Wildlife Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York, N.Y.: Funk and Wagnalls. OCLC   20316938.
  11. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2024). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 August 2024.