Rusty –fronted Barwing   Actinodura egertoni

Etymology:

  • Actinodura : Greek word aktis, aktinos brightness, splendour; odouros watcher, guardian
  • Egertoni: Named after Sir Philip de Malpas Grey-Egerton (1806–1881) English palaeontologist

Vernacular Names: Lepcha: Ramnio-pho, Naga: Nya-si, Ko-yu

Distribution in India:  Resident in Eastern Himalayas and North East of India

Description: Size of 21-23 Cm. Long-tailed, unstreaked Barwing with brownish-grey head and crest
and chestnut forehead, face and chin. It has a stout yellow bill. Sexes are similar. Found in dense
undergrowth, scrub-jungle, forest edge, shrubbery and scrub in warm broadleaf evergreen forest

Food Habits:  They eat Insects, including grasshoppers and ants, also eat berries, including those of
wild strawberries

Breeding Habits: They breed in April–July. The nest is as a largish, rather deep cup, made of fern,
bamboo or other dead leaves, grasses, fibrous roots and green leaves. The usual clutch is about
three to five eggs. The female incubates the eggs and the chicks are born Precocial (with open eyes and
down feathers). They are fed insects for faster growth and water content. Both parents do the duty
of feeding the chicks. The chicks fledge within 2 weeks and leave the nest post fledging within 2
weeks.