Brown Parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Brown Parrotbill

Paradoxornis unicolor (Hodgson, 1843)

This small gray-brown bird has a long tail and a small, yellowish, parrot-like bill.

Busiest months: April–May · Most records: China, Bhutan, Nepal

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Gray-brown, with a long tail
  2. Bill small, yellowish and parrot-like
  3. Dark stripes extend from above the eye along the sides of the crown

Where and when it's recorded

Brown Parrotbill has been recorded at 53 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Wawu Mountain – Summit [2800m]China137 records
  2. Dochula – Royal Botanical ParkBhutan123 records
  3. Wawu Mountain [General Area]China100 records
More places
  1. Labahe NNRChina58 records
  2. Dochula PassBhutan46 records
  3. Longcanggou [General Area]China44 records
  4. PelelaBhutan32 records
  5. Bumthang – JakarBhutan31 records
  6. Hike to Tiger's Nest MonasteryBhutan28 records
  7. ChelelaBhutan22 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaBhutanNepal

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 brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor) is a bird found in the central and eastern Himalayas. A dark stripe runs above the eyes and along the sides of the crown. The bird moves in small groups and will sometimes join mixed species foraging flocks.

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

Questions

Where does the Brown Parrotbill live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas to southern China. It is most often recorded in China, Bhutan and Nepal.

When is the best time to see the Brown Parrotbill?

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

Is the Brown Parrotbill endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Brown Parrotbill as Least Concern.

What family is the Brown Parrotbill in?

It belongs to the family Parrotbills & Allies (Paradoxornithidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Conservation
Least Concern

Range

Oriental: Himalayas to southern China

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Parrotbills & Allies Paradoxornithidae
Genus
Paradoxornis

Other birds in the genus Paradoxornis

Reed ParrotbillReed ParrotbillParadoxornis heudeiBlack-breasted ParrotbillBlack-breasted ParrotbillParadoxornis flavirostrisSpot-breasted ParrotbillSpot-breasted ParrotbillParadoxornis guttaticollisGreat ParrotbillGreat ParrotbillParadoxornis aemodiusThree-toed ParrotbillThree-toed ParrotbillParadoxornis paradoxusGrey-headed ParrotbillGrey-headed ParrotbillParadoxornis gularisBlack-headed ParrotbillBlack-headed ParrotbillParadoxornis margaritaeWhite-breasted ParrotbillWhite-breasted ParrotbillParadoxornis ruficepsRufous-headed ParrotbillRufous-headed ParrotbillParadoxornis bakeriFire-tailed MyzornisFire-tailed MyzornisMyzornis pyrrhoura
Brown Parrotbill

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

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