White-crowned Forktail

The white-crowned forktail is the largest of the forktails, formally described in 1818 and with five subspecies, each occupying a different geographic range. It has a black throat and breast, a black mantle and largely black wings, a white rump and lower back and a prominent white crown that gives it its name; as with other forktails, the tail is long, deeply forked and banded black and white. It is found in China, Southeast Asia and north-eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent, common through most of its range but uncommon in the Himalaya. The Indian subspecies indicus has a slightly longer bill than the nominate (Wikipedia, general species account).

A shy bird, it stays near water and forages on the edges of rivers and streams for invertebrates, with a variety of whistling and clicking calls. The breeding season is between March and September and possibly until October, and nests are built near water of plant material. Clutches are two to five eggs, varying with latitude. The species is in SoIB 2023 as a resident forest bird that eats invertebrates, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).