Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler

Cettia acanthizoides concolor

Endemic subspecies

The Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler is a small (11 cm), plain bush-warbler which is brownish above with a whitish or pale-buff supercilium and a dark eyestripe extending well behind the eye, and a rather short tail.  The chin and throat are grayish-white, becoming buffy on the breast and pale yellow on the belly and flanks.  The small, very fine bill is dark above and pinkish below, the iris is dark brown and the feet are pinkish-brown.  The Taiwan subspecies is warmer rufous-brown above and buffier-breasted below. 

The Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler prefers tall grassy areas and dense bamboo thickets, including those within forests, and stunted trees and sparse bushes above tree-line.  It forages low in thick grassy vegetation and is secretive and skulking.  This species is most easily located by its voice, its song consisting of a distinctive series of 3 or 4 thin, rising whistles, each about 2 seconds long, followed by a short series of fast “seesawing” notes.  Calls include a dry “brrrr”, given singly or run together as “chrrt chrrt chrrt”, and a sharp “tik”.

The nest of the Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler is a ball or deep cup of dry grasses, leaves, moss, spider webs and feathers, placed low in a bush or in thick undergrowth. 

In Taiwan the Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler is a common resident at high elevations, breeding usually above 2400 m.

References:  A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Mackinnon and Phillipps);  Handbook of Birds of the World Vol. 11; N. J. Collar, “Endemic subspecies of Taiwan birds—first impressions”, in Birding ASIA, Number 2, December 2004