Saxicola ferreus

Doi Ang Khang, Chiang Mai, Thailand

This week I return again to the beautiful hills of Chiang Mai to talk about the Grey Bush Chat. The Dois of northern Thailand have been very kind to me from a birding perspective. There are so many I have already talked about and so many still remaining. I have written an overview here on the Birds of the Dois and have now started to break them up into individuals. Read about some of the inhabitants of these beautiful Dois. 

About 685 kilometers to the north of Bangkok lies the former seat of the ancient Lanna Kingdom & is considered one of the most scenic provinces in the country given its mountain ranges, valleys, flora and fauna. A land of misty mountains and colourful hill tribes, a playground for seasoned travellers, and a delight for adventurers. Despite its relatively small size and blissful calm, Chiang Mai truly has it all, a city that is still firmly Thai in its atmosphere and attitude. It is the second-largest changwat (province) of Thailand. Bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lampang and Lamphun to the south, Tak to the southwest, Mae Hong Son to the west and the Shan State of Myanmar to the north. Located in a verdant valley on the banks of the Ping River, Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom. Today it is a place where past and the present seamlessly merge with modern buildings standing side by side with venerable temples. Of all the places I have visited in Thailand, Chiang Mai with its forests and mountains and the historic city of Ayutthaya are by far my favourites.

The word Chiang itself is from North Thai, or Lanna, meaning town or city and Mai means new making Chiang Mai the New City as it was founded later than Chiang Rai, the earlier capital of King Meng Rai. The districts in the province are called amphoe, and sub-districts are called tambon. Another twist is the use of Nakhon (or Nakorn or Nakhorn), derived from the Sanskrit word Nagara, also means city, though strictly speaking it refers to a capital city such as Nakorn Sri Ayutthaya (more on Ayutthaya later). Indeed to emphasise its former status you may sometimes see Chiang Mai referred to as Nakhon Ping. Other common names of geographical features include mae (river) and doi which is north Thai for mountain - for example Doi Inthanon and Mae Ping.

The four Dois we spent our time on were Doi Inthanon, Doi Ang Khang, Doi Luang and Doi SanJu. Click on the links to read about the birds from each of these mountains. 

Doi Ang Khang is a mountain belonging to the Himalayan foot hill range, located at the Myanmar (Burmese) border. The highest point is 1,928 metres. Although chiefly deforested, this is still one of Northern Thailand’s most prominent birdwatching areas, due to more and rarer bird species being in residence, as well as being a popular resting point for numerous migratory birds. Examples of rare and beautiful birds inhabiting this area include the Spot-breasted Parrotbill and the Red-faced Liocichla. A highly recommend site to find the rarest bird species is the picturesque area named Heavenly Valley. It is not so uncommon to spot the Red-tailed Laughingthrush here. Around The Royal Agricultural Project Station you can find Brown, Burmese and Long-tailed Shrike and also Fire-capped Tits and Silver-eared Mesia, White – tailed Robin & Maroon Oriole.

We didn’t have the good fortune to see all the species on all the mountains, that would have been impossible, but we did rack up quite a number of species - about 95 of them. The gallery today is of the Grey Bush Chat - both the male and the female - which graced us with their presence and made for some lovely photos and videos.

Read more about the birds of Thailand.

For a print of the beautiful birds from the Dois click on the button below to read my process and order a limited edition canvas.

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Grey Bush Chat

The Grey Bush Chat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan, Nepal and mainland Southeast Asia. A small songbird of forest edges, open scrub, and farmland, usually seen in pairs or small flocks. The male is silvery gray overall with a black face and white supercilium, throat, belly, and wing patches while the female is a dull brown overall, with a rufous tail and faded version of the male's head pattern. A bold bird but not very active, usually seen perching for long periods on posts and overhead wires. Their song is bright and melodious, but often has a somewhat faltering quality, trailing off towards the end. Most common call is a harsh rising “bzeeet!”.

The Grey Bush Chat is about 14–15 cm long and weighs between 14–16 g. The Male nominate race is like the male S. jerdoni, but with a long white  supercilium, a grey-fringed back, rump and scapulars, small white wing patch, white outer-tail feathers, grey-washed breast. In fresh plumage, the crown to rump is mid-grey with vague dark streaks, a face blackish, and grey wing-feather edges. The female has crown to rump & scapulars in rufous-brown, rufous-buff wing edgings, rufous-chestnut rump & outer tail, buffy supercilium and throat, a blackish-brown face, buff underparts tinged rufous on flanks. The juvenile is very like the juvenile S. jerdoni too, but has a short buffy supercilium and wingbar. In race haringtoni the male is darker on the breast and flanks, less pure grey above, while the female is darker overall.

The Grey Bush Chat is occasionally placed in the genus Rhodophila. The difference in egg patterns between races adduced as evidence for taxonomic reassessment of species, but split seems unlikely and some authorities prefer to view it as monotypic, while others treat race haringtoni as a subspecies of S. jerdoni; the two species are sister species. Racial variation is largely clinal, with the plumage becoming darker from W to E. Two subspecies are recognised.

• Saxicola ferreus haringtoni: Distributed in C and S China (S from SE Gansu, S Shaanxi and S Anhui and Shanghai); non-breeding S China and Indochina.

• Saxicola ferreus ferreus: Distributed in the Himalayas from Pakistan E to Myanmar, NW Thailand, NC Laos and C Vietnam (S Annam), probably this race in SE Tibet, W and S Yunnan (China); non-breeding also at lower altitudes in N India, S Myanmar E to S Mainland Southeast Asia.

This bush chat prefers open scrubby and bush-covered hillsides, glades, grassy knolls by trees, edges of pine and broadleaf evergreen forest, nearly treeless terraced agricultural land, gardens, weed-covered fields, low hedgerows, bamboo jungle along mule roads. In the Himalayas it breeds at 1500–3300 m, wintering in a similar habitat, also parks and gardens, and from lowlands to 2400 m it breeds above 1600 m in NW Thailand.

It is a resident bird, subject to altitudinal and short-distance winter movements, in much of range. It straggles down to the foothills and adjacent plains in Pakistan, and moves into the Mandalay district of Myanmar; local movements in Thailand E to N Vietnam. Elsewhere it is more migratory. The race haringtoni winters into S China (scarce in Hong Kong, mainly from early Oct to late Feb) and SE Asia, straggling to Japan and Taiwan; in E China, autumn passage in lowland Fujian mid-Oct, common in winter until Apr. In Vietnam, recorded as appearing “in large groups” in winter in 1960s.

Its prey consists chiefly of insects, including beetles and grasshoppers, also spiders and small molluscs and occasionally seeds. The feeding habits are typical of the genus, flying down from a conspicuous perch to take prey on ground, but also sallies in air. Commonly perches in trees, as well as on lower features. Territorial in winter.

They sing from often high exposed perch (e.g. in pine), a short, variable, pleasant but feeble canary-like trill, e.g. “titheratu-chak-lew-titatit” or “sisiri-swirrr”, ending abruptly on rising inflection. Calls include characteristic soft “zizz” sound in warning (birds then described as “geezing”); clear “hew” or “tyoup”; harsher “bzech”; sharp “tak-tak-tak-tak” and, in greater alarm, “zee-chunk” (probably versions of foregoing calls).

The breeding is between March and July and probably double-brooded. The nest is a modest compact cup made of grasses, moss and fine roots, lined with fibrous material, hair, feathers, pine needles and rootlets, usually placed on the ground or in a hole in the bank or wall or amid roots or ferns. Lays 4–6 pale bluish to greenish-blue with faint reddish freckles eggs (reportedly unmarked in race haringtoni) and the nest is often parasitised by the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).

This is not a globally threatened bird and is common in greatly restricted range in Pakistan and common through much of Himalayas. Pairs every few hundred metres in agricultural terraces in Nepal (highest density encountered there). Fairly common in C & S China; once thought rare in S China, but now known to be rather common. Common in higher hills in Myanmar; local in NW Thailand. Generally common in non-breeding range in SE Asia.

With that said I think it is time to move onto the gallery of this small songbird of forest edges, open scrub, and farmland.

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