Pygmy Wren-babbler Pnoepyga pusilla小鷦鶥
Category I. Locally common woodland resident that continues to expand its range since the first record in 2000.
IDENTIFICATION
Jan. 2019, Michelle and Peter Wong.
7.5–9 cm. Tiny, almost tailless, relatively long-legged brown babbler with pale scaling below. Brown from crown to rump with slight dark scaling, small pale subterminal spots on scapulars, wing-coverts and tertials; ear-coverts with pale shaft streaks. Breast, belly and flanks with obvious pale scaling. Bill blackish; legs pale dull brown. Sexes similar.
Two morphs occur. The light morph (above) has whitish scaling on the underparts.
Jan. 2019, Michelle and Peter Wong.
The dark morph (above) has buff scaling on the underparts and buff spots on the upperparts.
The juvenile is plain, mainly rufous with buff tips to greater coverts and tertials. The bird at the URL below has the pale gape characteristic of juveniles of many species.
VOCALISATIONS
The song is distinctive, a loud, two or, occasionally, three-note phrase, with the first element usually slightly higher in pitch.
The call is similar to Asian Stubtail, a relatively high-pitched ‘thit’, but is slightly thinner, harder and lower in pitch. Care is required to distinguish the two species.
DISTRIBUTION & HABITAT PREFERENCE
Pygmy Wren-babbler is typically found in woodland with a moderate to closed canopy and tends to avoid shrubland, young woodland or plantation areas. Records in the early 2000s were mostly from the Tai Mo Shan massif, particularly Tai Po Kau but also Kap Lung and Ng Tung Chai. It then expanded its range to other parts of the New Territories, including the northeast and east New Territories. While it has not been recorded on HK Island, there are a few reports from Lantau.
Not recorded before 2000, the Breeding Atlas of 2016-19 recorded this species in 2.0% of 1km squares while the Winter Atlas of 2016-19 recorded the species in 4.6% of 1km squares during the non-breeding season.
OCCURRENCE
Pygmy Wren-babbler was first recorded in HK on 25 February 2000 (Woodward et al. 2004), since when it has expanded its range significantly. Although a sedentary species, some local altitudinal movement is indicated by its occurrence in the non-breeding season at sites such as Pak Sha O, where it appears not to breed. Records are more frequent in January and February but fewest from May to July, when it is more elusive in the breeding areas. Sightings tend to increase in September as birds become more active and disperse.
The majority of Pygmy Wren-Babbler records are from Tai Po Kau, which accounts for approximately 23% of the total sightings. Other favoured sites are Ng Tung Chai (13.3%), Tai Lam Country Park (12.3%) and the Shek Kong area (9.1%). The highest count is 15 at Tai Po Kau on 13 February 2016.
BREEDING
The first breeding record of Pygmy Wren-babbler occurred in 2004 (Hobcroft 2007) when a recently fledged chick was observed on 11 May in Tai Po Kau. Subsequently, breeding records became more numerous, with evidence of nest building behavior observed as early as February (Ng Tung Chai on 5 March 2007 and 26 February 2009). Juveniles have been noted from 11 May to 6 September.
BEHAVIOUR, FORAGING & DIET
Solitary and mouse-like on the ground in wooded areas, where it forages around the base of tree trunks and exposed roots, in the leaf litter and in dense vegetation. It is elusive and difficult to see, but occasionally curious. Often flicks wings. No local data regarding diet but presumably insectivorous.
RANGE & SYSTEMATICS
Occurs from the Himalayas and northeast India through north Indochina to south China and south in a disjunct fashion to Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and the Lesser Sundas (Collar and Robson 2020). Seven subspecies are recognised, with the nominate occurring from the Himalayas to south China, including HK. Pnoepyga wren-babblers are not babblers and were elevanted to their own family, Cupwings, by Gelang et al. (2009).
CONSERVATION STATUS
IUCN: Least Concern. Population trend decreasing.
Figure 1.
Collar, N. and C. Robson (2020). Pygmy Cupwing (Pnoepyga pusilla), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.pywbab1.01
Gelang, M., A. Cibois, E. Pasquet, U. Olsson, P. Alstrom and P. G. P. Ericson (2009). Phylogeny of babblers (Aves, Passeriformes): major lineages, family limits and classification. Zoologica Scripta 38, 3, May 2009: 225-236.
Hobcroft, D. (2007). A Breeding Record of Pygmy Wren Babbler Pnoepyga pusilla in Tai Po Kau Forestry Reserve, Hong Kong. Hong Kong Bird Report 2001-02: 212.
Woodward, T., R. W. Lewthwaite and M. Williams (2004). Pygmy Wren Babbler at Tai Po Kau: the first record for Hong Kong. Hong Kong Bird Report 1999 & 2000: 197-200.
