Blue-fronted Robin (Cinclidium frontale)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Blue-fronted Robin

Cinclidium frontale Blyth, 1842

≈17 cmLength25 gWeight

The male has a dark blue body, a royal-blue head, and yellow-orange underparts.

Busiest months: June · Most records: China, Bhutan, India

Looks like White-tailed Robin

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Male has a royal-blue head and dark blue body
  2. Brown back and yellow-orange underparts
  3. Small black bill; gray legs and feet
  4. Neither sex has a white patch on the tail

Male, female and young

Female has an olive-brown head and body, with paler underparts.

Similar species

White-tailed Robin
White-tailed Robin

Similar in appearance, but neither sex of Blue-fronted Robin has a white patch on the tail.

Where and when it's recorded

Blue-fronted Robin has been recorded at 23 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Hailuogou Glacier Forest ParkChina28 records
  2. Dochula – Royal Botanical ParkBhutan11 records
  3. Yongkhola campBhutan4 records
More places
  1. Wuyipeng Research StationChina3 records
  2. TrongsaBhutan2 records
  3. PelelaBhutan2 records
  4. Erlang ShanChina2 records
  5. Labahe NNRChina2 records
  6. Ura ValleyBhutan1 record
  7. Wangdue - Pele La roadBhutan1 record

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaBhutanIndia

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 blue-fronted robin (Cinclidium frontale) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Cinclidium. It is found in Bhutan, China, Northeast India, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and possibly Nepal.

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

Questions

How big is the Blue-fronted Robin?

The Blue-fronted Robin is about ≈17 cm long and weighs around 25 g.

Where does the Blue-fronted Robin live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Nepal to Southeast Asia. It is most often recorded in China, Bhutan and India.

When is the best time to see the Blue-fronted Robin?

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

Is the Blue-fronted Robin endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Blue-fronted Robin as Least Concern.

What does the Blue-fronted Robin eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Blue-fronted Robin in?

It belongs to the family Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈17 cm
Weight
25 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Varied
Migration
Partial migrant
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
82 mm
Tail
86 mm
Bill
16 mm
Tarsus
35 mm

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

Range

Oriental: Nepal to Southeast Asia

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Cinclidium frontale orientale ne India to sc China and n Indochina

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Chats, Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae
Genus
Cinclidium

More from the family Chats, Old World Flycatchers

White-tailed AletheWhite-tailed AletheAlethe diademataFire-crested AletheFire-crested AletheAlethe castaneaKaroo Scrub RobinKaroo Scrub RobinTychaedon coryphoeusBrown Scrub RobinBrown Scrub RobinTychaedon signataForest Scrub RobinForest Scrub RobinTychaedon leucostictaBearded Scrub RobinBearded Scrub RobinTychaedon quadrivirgataMiombo Scrub RobinMiombo Scrub RobinTychaedon barbataKalahari Scrub RobinKalahari Scrub RobinCercotrichas paenaBlack Scrub RobinBlack Scrub RobinCercotrichas podobeRufous-tailed Scrub RobinRufous-tailed Scrub RobinCercotrichas galactotes
Blue-fronted Robin

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Langur Eco Travels. ↗

WebP · 1070 px

Heard it but can't see it? Mingji identifies birds by sound and photo, on your phone.

In other languages