Sichuan treecreeper

Last updated

Sichuan treecreeper
Sichuan Treecreeper (8077153532).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Certhiidae
Genus: Certhia
Species:
C. tianquanensis
Binomial name
Certhia tianquanensis
Li G, 1995
Synonyms

Certhia familiaris tianquanensisLi, 1995

The Sichuan treecreeper (Certhia tianquanensis) is a rare species of bird in the treecreeper family, Certhiidae.

Contents

It was described as new to science (initially as a subspecies of the common treecreeper C. familiaris) in 1995 from 14 specimens taken at four sites in the mountains of western Sichuan, China. In 2002, it was realized that these birds constituted a distinct species, and subsequent research [2] suggests it is closest to the Nepal treecreeper (C. nipalensis).

This bird is relatively large with a long tail. Its bill is strikingly short while the throat is whitish and darker underparts. Sichuan treecreeper sings aloud with a rapid and high-pitched trill.

This species is believed to be a relict species breeding in open old-growth stands of the conifer Faber's fir (Abies fabri) at high altitude (2,500-2,830 m), although it is thought to undertake localized altitudinal migrations in the winter (occurring down to at least 1,600 m).

It is known from five sites: Labahe Natural Reserve (Tianquin County), Dayi County, Shuanghe town (Ebian County), Wawu Shan (Hongya County), and Wujipung in Wolong Biosphere Reserve. Within this small area, the species is thought to be patchily distributed because it seems to be confined to old stands of the Faber's fir.

The species forages for invertebrates in the upper story of large trees by creeping along branches and trunks.

Intensive logging of primary coniferous forests in the last century, even at high altitudes in the mountains of western China, has seriously reduced the potential range of this species. The Wawu Shan table mountain has steep slopes which are inaccessible to lumberjacks in the absence of extensive road construction, but it is not yet formally protected, and there are plans to open up the regions for tourism by building a cable railway.

The population was estimated at less than 1000 adult individuals, occurring over a range of 19,690 km2. Formerly classified as vulnerable species by the IUCN, [3] new research has shown it to be not as rare as it was believed. Consequently, it is downlisted to near threatened status in 2008. [4]

Footnotes

  1. BirdLife International (2019). "Certhia tianquanensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T22731107A156317432. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22731107A156317432.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Tietze et al. (2006)
  3. BLI (2004)
  4. BLI (2008)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treecreeper</span> Family of birds

The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere and sub-Saharan Africa. The family contains eleven species in two genera, Certhia and Salpornis. Their plumage is dull-coloured, and as their name implies, they climb over the surface of trees in search of food.

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

The collared crow, also known as the ring-necked crow or white-collared crow, is a member of the family Corvidae native to China and north of Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian treecreeper</span> Small passerine bird found in temperate Eurasia

The Eurasian treecreeper or common treecreeper is a small passerine bird also known in the British Isles, where it is the only living member of its genus, simply as treecreeper. It is similar to other treecreepers, and has a curved bill, patterned brown upperparts, whitish underparts, and long stiff tail feathers which help it creep up tree trunks. It can be most easily distinguished from the similar short-toed treecreeper, which shares much of its European range, by its different song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-toed treecreeper</span> Species of bird

The short-toed treecreeper is a small passerine bird found in woodlands through much of the warmer regions of Europe and into north Africa. It has a generally more southerly distribution than the other European treecreeper species, the common treecreeper, with which it is easily confused where they both occur. The short-toed treecreeper tends to prefer deciduous trees and lower altitudes than its relative in these overlap areas. Although mainly sedentary, vagrants have occurred outside the breeding range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hume's leaf warbler</span> Species of bird

Hume's leaf warbler or Hume's warbler is a small leaf warbler which breeds in the mountains of inner Asia. This warbler is migratory and winters mainly in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pallas's grasshopper warbler</span> Species of bird

Pallas's grasshopper warbler, also known as the rusty-rumped warbler, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Helopsaltes. It breeds in the eastern Palearctic: from the Altai Mountains, Mongolia and Transbaikalia to northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. It is migratory, wintering from India eastward to Indonesia. It is a rare migrant in Sri Lanka.

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

The brown creeper, also known as the American treecreeper, is a small songbird, the only North American member of the treecreeper family Certhiidae.

<i>Certhia</i> Genus of birds

Certhia is the genus of birds containing the typical treecreepers, which together with the African and Indian spotted creepers make up the family Certhiidae.

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

The Waigeo brushturkey or Bruijn's brushturkey, is a large brownish-black megapode with a bare red facial skin, red comb, maroon rump and chestnut brown below. There are two elongated red wattles on the back of the head and a long wattle on the foreneck. Both sexes are similar. The female has a smaller comb and no wattles.

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

The Réunion cuckooshrike is a passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family. It is endemic to the island of Réunion, where it is restricted to two areas of mountain forest in the north of the island. Males are dark grey above and pale grey beneath, while females have dark brown upper parts and a streaked breast. The population has been declining and the range contracting, being currently about 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as "critically endangered", with the possibility that the bird could be wiped out by a tropical storm. Conservation efforts are being made by attempting to control the cats and rats which prey on the chicks, and this seems to have resulted in the population stabilising.

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

The Bugun liocichla is a passerine bird species from the family Leiothrichidae closely related to the Emei Shan liocichla. First spotted in 1995 in Arunachal Pradesh, India, it was described as a new species in 2006. The description was made without the collection of a type specimen as they were too few to risk killing one. It is thought to be an endangered species, with a small population, and a very restricted distribution range within which commercial development threatens the habitat.

The Emei Shan liocichla is a passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. The species, also known as the Omei Shan or grey-faced liocichla, is endemic to mountain ranges in Southern Sichuan, China. It is closely related to the Bugun liocichla, a species only described in 2006, and which it closely resembles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorgeted wood quail</span> Species of bird

The rare gorgeted wood quail is a small ground-dwelling bird. This tiny member of the New World quail family has been found in the larger oak forest remnants in the eastern Cordillera section of Colombia.

<i>Abies fabri</i> Species of conifer

Abies fabri is a conifer species in the family Pinaceae. It is endemic to Sichuan in western China, occurring on the sacred mountain of Emei Shan and westward to the Gongga Shan massif, growing at altitudes of 1,500–4,000 metres (4,900–13,100 ft).

The Sichuan partridge is a bird species in the family Phasianidae. It is found only in China where it is classified as a nationally protected animal. Its natural habitat is temperate forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.

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

The Sikkim treecreeper is a species of bird in the treecreeper family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yunnan nuthatch</span> Species of nuthatch endemic to China

The Yunnan nuthatch is a bird species in the nuthatch family Sittidae. It was first described by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant in 1900 based on a male holotype. It is a small nuthatch, measuring 12 centimetres (4.7 in) in length on average and weighs between 7.5 and 13 grams. The grey-blue upperparts contrast with the light, smooth, buffy lowerparts. It has a fine white eyebrow above a black eyestripe, which is distinct when the plumage is fresh, and exhibits a small degree of sexual dimorphism. A noisy bird, it produces simple, nasal sounds, sometimes in repetitive series.

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

Hodgson's treecreeper is a small passerine bird from the southern rim of the Himalayas. Its specific distinctness from the common treecreeper was recently validated.

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

Hume's treecreeper was earlier included within the brown-throated treecreeper complex and identified as a separate species on the basis of their distinctive calls. This species in the treecreeper family is found in Assam, Myanmar, Shan Mountains, Northern Thailand, Laos and the Dalat Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Przevalski's nuthatch</span> Small passerine bird endemic to southeastern Tibet and west central China

Przevalski's nuthatch, originally given the nomen nudumSitta eckloni, is a bird species in the family Sittidae, collectively known as nuthatches. Long regarded as a subspecies of the white-cheeked nuthatch, it nevertheless differs significantly in morphology and vocalizations. Both S. przewalskii and S. leucopsis have been regarded as closely related to the North American white-breasted nuthatch. It is a medium-sized nuthatch, measuring about 13 cm (5 in) in length. Its upper body is a dark gray-blue or slate color, becoming dark blue-black at the crown. The cheeks and throat are a white buff-orange, turning to a rich cinnamon on the underparts that intensifies in color on the sides of the breast. Vocalizations consist of alternating series of ascending whistles and short notes.

References