Bird Album
Chinese Shortwing
Brachypteryx sinensis Rickett, 1897
≈14 cmLength18 gWeight
It is shy, favors hiding deep in dim vegetation and stays close to the ground.
Busiest months: May · Most records: China
How to identify
Where and when it's recorded
Chinese Shortwing has been recorded at 20 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Dalaoling National Forest ParkChina14 records
- Nanling NNR [Ruyang Area]China10 records
- Wuyishan National ParkChina9 records
More places
- Mao'er Mountain NNRChina4 records
- Laohegou Protected AreaChina2 records
- Jiangxi Wuyishan NNR – Mt HuanggangChina2 records
- Nanling NNR [Dadingshan Area]China2 records
- Foping NNR – Liangfengya [2100m]China2 records
- Erlang ShanChina2 records
- Drum MountainChina1 record
Countries and regions with the most records
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 Chinese shortwing (Brachypteryx sinensis) is a species of chat. This species is now classified in the family Muscicapidae.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Chinese Shortwing?
The Chinese Shortwing is about ≈14 cm long and weighs around 18 g.
Where does the Chinese Shortwing live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: southeastern China. It is most often recorded in China.
When is the best time to see the Chinese Shortwing?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Chinese Shortwing endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Chinese Shortwing as Least Concern.
What does the Chinese Shortwing eat?
Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.
What family is the Chinese Shortwing in?
It belongs to the family Chats, Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈14 cm
- Weight
- 18 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Insects & other invertebrates
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 64 mm
- Tail
- 55 mm
- Bill
- 16 mm
- Tarsus
- 31 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: southeastern China
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Chats, Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Brachypteryx
Other birds in the genus Brachypteryx
Himalayan ShortwingBrachypteryx cruralis
Taiwan ShortwingBrachypteryx goodfellowi
Rusty-bellied ShortwingBrachypteryx hyperythra
Lesser ShortwingBrachypteryx leucophris
Philippine ShortwingBrachypteryx poliogyna
Bornean ShortwingBrachypteryx erythrogyna
Sumatran ShortwingBrachypteryx saturata
Javan ShortwingBrachypteryx montana
Flores ShortwingBrachypteryx floris
White-tailed AletheAlethe diademata
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from reference photos. ↗
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