Yellow Collared Ixulus

Scientific Name: Ixulus flavicollis

Origin: Himalayas

A small, drab colored bird which islively, inquisitive and amusing to observe.

Description:

Size: 10 cm (4 in)

COCK:

Body: dark olive brown. Nape of neck: yellow. Chest and belly: greyish- white. Crest: dark brown. Beak and legs: brown.

HEN:

Identical, so this bird cannot be sexed by appearance. Cock birds are aggressive indefence of their territory chasing of larger birds very actively, and their behavior is the best way of determining sex.

Diet: (Softbill)

Ixulus often take a nectar mixture of honey and water to excess and ignore other essential nutrients. Their diet must be carefully monitored. Soft fruit such as pears, grapes and berries should be provided together with fine grade insectile mix and small live insects. Sponge cakes soaked in honey and water is enjoyed. House flies and blowflies are eagerly devoured, but maggots and mealworms this small species.

This bird must be carefully acclimatized and needs housing in a warm conservatory in cold weather, as it tends to be rather delicate.

Breeding:

This is a difficult species to breed. Accommodation with plenty of cover is needed to encourage breeding. Preferred nesting sites are similar to those chosen by the Black-Chinned Yuhina. Shrubs and climbing plants with fine grasses and roots are used for nesting material.

Yellow Collared Ixulus Information

• The name of the sub family to which the bird belongs is Timaliinae.
• The bird is one of the even subspecies of Yuhina flavicollis.
• The bird is known in several other common names like Yellow-naped yuhina in English, Yuhina а cou roux in French and Gelbnackenyuhina in German.
• The bird like other members of the same genus has compact colored plumage. It has short but pointed bill with a small tough and well-defined crest.
• The bird has a characteristic physical trait of black colored malar stripe or moustache and white streaks on brownish flanks.
• The bird is found in the area like the entire stretch of the Himalayas, western side of China, Myanmar and Northern part of the Indochina region.
• The natural habitat of the bird mainly consists of the montane regions or the highlands located below the sub-alpine areas. The bird is also found in the evergreen forests and the deciduous forests as well.
• The bird generally stays in large flocks. The flock may also consist of mixed species of birds of small size. The bird is migratory but with respect to chage in the altitude. During the winter season the bird comes down to the lower hilly regions.
• In wild the bird feeds itself on the insects of interspecies, fruits like berries and nectar of flowers.
• The bird is monogamous and sticks to a single partner during the breeding season. The male like most other bird species get aggressive and territorial in nature during the breeding season.
• The nests are bowl shaped and are made up of materials taken from fine plants. The nests generally hang in the branches of shrubs and climbers.