Black-throated Prinia

The black-throated prinia is a large prinia, 12 to 17 cm long and 8–16 g, with an extremely long tail that makes up to 10 cm of its length. The throat is white in the non-breeding season but black in the breeding season, breaking into black splotches on the breast. Males and females look alike, though males are slightly larger with a comparatively longer tail. It is found in the eastern Himalaya from eastern Nepal through northern India, Bhutan and south-western China, and was previously considered the same species as the hill prinia and the rufous-crowned prinia, but is now treated as separate on morphology, song and genetic evidence (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is found in scrubby and open habitats, including forest edge and clearings, generally from 900 to 2,800 m. It is an active forager, met singly, in pairs or small family groups near the ground in tangled vegetation, continuously moving its long tail. It breeds between March and June. SoIB 2023 treats it as an Eastern Himalayan endemic and rates it a Moderate conservation priority, with a Restricted range of about 23,400 km² and insufficient data on trends (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).