Bird Album
Spotted Elachura
Elachura formosa (Walden, 1874)
≈9.1 cmLength5 gWeight
It is a tiny, dark brown bird with white patches and a very short tail.
Busiest months: April · Most records: China, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma)
How to identify
Field marks
- Body dark brown with white patches
- Wings and tail rufous
- Wings and tail with black barring
- Tail short
Where and when it's recorded
Spotted Elachura has been recorded at 80 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Fuzhou National Forest ParkChina70 records
- West Tianmu Mountain NNRChina65 records
- Emei Peak NNRChina62 records
More places
- Tsamang RoadBhutan51 records
- Siwuling MountainsChina46 records
- TrongsaBhutan25 records
- Dulong River ValleyChina24 records
- Yongkhola campBhutan23 records
- Royal Manas NP – Goling areaBhutan19 records
- Mount VictoriaMyanmar (Burma)15 records
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 spotted elachura or spotted wren-babbler (Elachura formosa) is a species of passerine bird found in the forests of the eastern Himalayas and Southeast Asia. In the past it was included in the babbler genus Spelaeornis as S. formosus, but molecular phylogenetic studies in 2014 provided evidence that it was distinct from the babblers, having no other close living relatives within the passerine bird clade Passerida. This led to the creation of a new family, Elachuridae, to accommodate just one species (a monotypic taxon).
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Spotted Elachura?
The Spotted Elachura is about ≈9.1 cm long and weighs around 5 g.
Where does the Spotted Elachura live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas to southeastern China and central Vietnam. It is most often recorded in China, Bhutan and Myanmar (Burma).
When is the best time to see the Spotted Elachura?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Spotted Elachura endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Spotted Elachura as Least Concern.
What does the Spotted Elachura eat?
Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.
What family is the Spotted Elachura in?
It belongs to the family Elachura (Elachuridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈9.1 cm
- Weight
- 5 g
- Habitat
- Grassland
- Diet
- Insects & other invertebrates
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 46 mm
- Tail
- 30 mm
- Bill
- 13 mm
- Tarsus
- 17 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: Himalayas to southeastern China and central Vietnam
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Elachura Elachuridae
- Genus
- Elachura
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