Himalayan Rubythroat

Calliope pectoralis

Nests above 4,000 meters in the Himalayas. Scarlet throat blazes against slate-brown plumage and a crisp white brow.

Population: Not numerically quantified by BirdLife International/IUCN; population trend generally reported as stable (BirdLife DataZone's dynamic tables did not render a hard number in this session either)
Habitat: Open woodland, scrub, and thickets (including juniper and rhododendron scrub) in mountain terrain; breeds at high elevation (roughly 2,500-4,300 m, with some sources citing a narrower 2,500-2,700 m core) and descends to lower-elevation scrub and cultivation edges in winter — an altitudinal migrant
Fun fact: The male's flutelike, highly variable breeding-season song — sung from exposed perches throughout the day — was distinctive enough that Scottish composer Magnus Robb analyzed a recording of it slowed down to create his 1995 musical piece "Summoning Dawn."
Range: Himalayas and adjoining Central Asian mountains, breeding from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan across Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and into Tibet/western China; winters at lower elevations south into the plains of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand
Diet: Primarily small insects and other invertebrates (beetles, ants, hairy caterpillars, etc.), gleaned from the ground and low scrub; occasionally takes berries
Size: 0.15 m

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