Asian Stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Asian Stubtail

Urosphena squameiceps (Swinhoe, 1863)

≈10 cmLength9.3 gWeight

This small rufous bird has a very short tail, paler underparts and a darker eyestripe.

Busiest months: November–December · Most records: China, Japan, South Korea

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Rufous overall with paler underparts
  2. Dark brown eyestripe
  3. Small, short tail

Male, female and young

The sexes have similar coloration, as do newly fledged juveniles.

Voice

In the breeding season, the male gives a high-pitched “shee-shee-shee-shee” or “cee-cee-cee”; both sexes give calls resembling “chott-chott-chott”.

Where and when it's recorded

Asian Stubtail has been recorded at 388 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 10 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Yeliu IBATaiwan (China)646 records
  2. Tai Po Kau Nature ReserveHong Kong (China)612 records
  3. Pak Sha OHong Kong (China)435 records
More places
  1. Tai Lam Country ParkHong Kong (China)429 records
  2. Yilan – Dingliao Ecological ParkTaiwan (China)273 records
  3. Po ToiHong Kong (China)261 records
  4. Pat Heung Catchwater, Tai LamHong Kong (China)176 records
  5. Nanhui DongtanChina145 records
  6. Shing MunHong Kong (China)135 records
  7. Wajima – Hegurajima (island)Japan135 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaJapanSouth KoreaThailandVietnamBangladeshCambodiaMyanmar (Burma)

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Asian stubtail (Urosphena squameiceps) is a bird in the family Cettiidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. It breeds in Northeast Asia and Japan.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Asian Stubtail?

The Asian Stubtail is about ≈10 cm long and weighs around 9.3 g.

Where does the Asian Stubtail live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: southeastern Russia, northeastern China, North and South Korea and Japan. It is most often recorded in China, Japan and South Korea.

When is the best time to see the Asian Stubtail?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November and December (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Asian Stubtail endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Asian Stubtail as Least Concern.

What does the Asian Stubtail eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Asian Stubtail in?

It belongs to the family Cettia Bush Warblers & Allies (Cettiidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈10 cm
Weight
9.3 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Migratory
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
51 mm
Tail
31 mm
Bill
13 mm
Tarsus
18 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: southeastern Russia, northeastern China, North and South Korea and Japan

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Genus
Urosphena

Other birds in the genus Urosphena

Bornean StubtailBornean StubtailUrosphena whiteheadiTimor StubtailTimor StubtailUrosphena subulataYellow-bellied WarblerYellow-bellied WarblerAbroscopus superciliarisRufous-faced WarblerRufous-faced WarblerAbroscopus albogularisBlack-faced WarblerBlack-faced WarblerAbroscopus schisticepsMountain TailorbirdMountain TailorbirdPhyllergates cucullatusRufous-headed TailorbirdRufous-headed TailorbirdPhyllergates heterolaemusBroad-billed WarblerBroad-billed WarblerTickellia hodgsoniPhilippine Bush WarblerPhilippine Bush WarblerHorornis seebohmiJapanese Bush WarblerJapanese Bush WarblerHorornis diphone
Asian Stubtail

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by (c) Rejoice Gassah, some rights reserved (CC BY). ↗

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