The black-browed fulvetta (''Alcippe grotei'') is a 15.5 to 16.5 cm long species of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Alcippeidae ''Alcippe'' is a genus of passerine birds in the monotypic family Alcippeidae. The genus once included many other fulvettas and was previously placed in families Pellorneidae or Timaliidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Alcippe'' previously included m ...

. It is found in subtropical or tropical moist

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

evergreen forests, adjacent secondary growth and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is often considered conspecific with the

mountain fulvetta The mountain fulvetta (''Alcippe peracensis'') is a 14 to 15.5 cm long species of bird in the Alcippeidae family. It is found in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The black-br ...

, ''Alcippe peracensis'', but the two forms differ in morphology and vocalisations, and are separated altitudinally. Black-browed fulvetta occurs primarily below 400 m, and mountain fulvetta above 900 m. Both have a warm brown back and tail, whitish underparts, a grey face and a slate grey crown edged below with a black line. Black-browed has brown flanks and a weaker white eyering; it has been described as a bit like a cross between mountain and

grey-cheeked fulvetta The grey-cheeked fulvetta or Morrison's fulvetta (''Alcippe morrisonia'') is a bird in the family Alcippeidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. The grey-cheeked fulvetta is part of a species complex and the nominate ''m ...

. The black-browed has a song ''yu-chi-chiwi-chuwoo, yu-uwit-ii-uwoo'', whereas the mountain is ''yi-yuii-uwee-uwee''.

References

*Collar, N. J. & Robson C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

'', Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. *Robson, Craig; ''Birds of Thailand'', 2002. Princeton University Press, . *Robson, Craig ; ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand'', 2004 *''Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q1091297 black-browed fulvetta Birds of Cambodia Birds of Laos Birds of Vietnam black-browed fulvetta