Collared Treepie

The collared treepie, also called the black-faced or black-browed treepie, is a small crow-family bird, slightly smaller than a blue jay, with the typical compact body and long tail of the group. The forehead, face and bib are black, with the chest, neck and shoulders light silvery or bluish grey, the back warm chestnut-brown, the wing coverts white and the primaries and tail black (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits a broad, often very localised band from the north-eastern Indian Himalaya, Bangladesh and Nepal into Myanmar, in hill forest often at high elevations. It feeds mainly on invertebrates, hawks for termites in flight and also eats fruits and berries. The nest is a small, neat structure in bamboo clumps, small trees or bushes at the edge of a clearing, with usually three to five eggs. The voice is varied, with metallic notes and a chattering alarm call. SoIB 2023 rates it a Moderate conservation priority, with a Restricted range of about 19,900 km² and insufficient data on trends (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).