Reed parrotbill

Either Calamornis heudei,[2] because it belongs to a subgenus family known as Calamornis, or Paradoxornis heudei,[3] because it's in the Paradoxornithidae family.

The reed parrotbill species is known to have significantly short, wide, and deep bills.[4] The reed parrotbill is the only parrotbill to change its appearance based on whether it's in breeding season. In winter, non-breeding season, the reed parrotbill has a pinkish-cream and ash-gray forehead and neck.[2] This species has streaks of black and warm brown from above its eyes to the tip of its head.[2] The region between its eyes and bill is a little whiter than its forehead.[2] The reed parrotbill has a white-tinted stripe that runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, and finishes somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.[2] Its ears are a similar color to its crown, also known as the top of its head.[2] They have different colored streaks on their body which include black and brown.[2] The streaks become blacker the further down the body.[2] In summer, breeding season, the top of the birds head to the feathers in the upper middle of the back below the neck feathers, are a bluish-gray.[2] The lower end of the feathers are more of a dark chestnut.[2] Their ears are slightly paler, and the sides are a lighter chestnut color than they are in non-breeding season.[2]

Reed parrotbills are native to East Asia.[4] Their habitat is known as a reedbed, which is a very wet area of reed plants between water and land.[2] Reed parrotbills rely on reedbeds because it is their natural environment that is home to both their water and food.[2] Recently, the population of this species has been declining due to degradation of reedbeds in their environment. This habitat loss has detrimentally affected the population of reed parrotbills.[3]

Reed parrotbills feed on insects, including pancake-shaped insects known as Alceridae.[2] Reed parrotbills cut through reed stems with their bills to obtain food inside, and make very loud noises while doing so.[2] They lack the hind part of the stomach that is responsible for grinding food.[2] Reed parrotbills have a difficult time digesting hard food items because they lack the gizzard muscle.[2]

Reed parrotbill are occasionally multi-brooded meaning they raise multiple broods a season.[5] Their first laying season occurs from the middle of May to the middle of July.[5] The second occurs from the middle of July to the middle of August.[5] The third season is from the middle of August to the middle of September.[5] They are typically found in pairs during breeding season.[2] They breed mainly in the summer and in their thick nests located in China.[3] However, their habitats are being taken away because of the re-development in China which causes them to have a loss of ecosystem.[3] This directly connects to their breeding, and has caused it to decline.[3]

The reed parrotbill species is predicted to decline rapidly as a result of degradation of their habitat.[4] They are not threatened globally, it's considered “near threatened.” [2] The main threats to their species are associated with clearance of reedbeds and over-harvesting reeds.[2] The population trend is decreasing fast, and there is a continuing decline of mature individuals.[3]

• Robson, C. (2007). Family Paradoxornithidae (Parrotbills) pp. 292 – 321 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Montreal.