Ashy-throated Parrotbill

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Ashy-throated Parrotbill
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Paradoxornithidae Genus: Paradoxornis Species: P. alphonsianus
Binomial name
Paradoxornis alphonsianus (Verreaux,J, 1870)

The Ashy-throated Parrotbill is a member of the parrotbill family.

[edit] Morphology

Ashy-throated Parrotbill is a medium-sized tawny coloured parrotbill with a large bill.

[edit] Natural range and habitat

The range of this species extends from south-west China to northern Vietnam. Here it inhabits bamboo stands and areas with tall grasses.

[edit] The naturalised population in Italy

A population of parrotbills was first discovered in northern Italy in 1995, at the Brabbia Swamp Nature Reserve, Varese. In March 1998, 21 individuals were captured and photographed, and this enabled the identification of the birds as Ashy-throated Parrotbills, through examination of photographs on the World Wide Web and by consultation with parrotbill experts. The birds here are found in areas with willow, tall wetland herbs and reeds.

By 1999, the population at this site had grown to at least a hundred individuals; in December 1998, the species was also observed in two localities on the Lake of Varese.

The presence of this population is believed to result from birds escaping from a nearby bird-trader.

The binomial commemorates the French ornithologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Paradoxornis alphonsianus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Boto, Alberto, Diego Rubolini, Andrea Viganò and Walter Guenzani (1999) Paradoxornis alphonsianus: una nuova specie naturalizzata per l’Italia Quaderni di Birdwatching 1(1)

[edit] External links

• The above referenced article (in Italian)