Blue-fronted Robin

The blue-fronted robin is the only species in the monotypic genus Cinclidium, of the family Muscicapidae. Males have a dark blue body and sapphire-blue head, brown along the back, yellow-orange underparts, a small black bill and grey legs, while females have an olive-brown head and body with pale underparts. It is found in Bhutan, China, north-east India, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and possibly Nepal, at 800–3,000 m, in temperate forest (Wikipedia, general species account).

It forages in low vegetation, including bamboo, feeding on small ground insects, and occurs primarily in mid- to high-elevation forests, typically feeding at lower levels or on the ground. It is not migratory but may move to lower elevations in winter, and breeding populations have been recorded in Thailand and Vietnam. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, a resident and altitudinal migrant forest bird with a Restricted range of about 10,800 km² and insufficient data on trends (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).