Adult Siberian accentors in cool autumn plumage have blackish-brown or greyish-brown caps, and grey neck flanks; the neck, back, and shoulders are reddish brown with darker feather centers; The undertail is olive-brown. The eyebrow is broad buff yellow. The lores and ear covers are black. The chin, throat, throat, and chest are buff or buff yellow, and the rest of the underparts are off-white. The feathers and their covers are dark brown with buff-brown edging. On the medians and large covers, and on the last secondaries, there are white terminal spots. The legs are yellow, the claws are light brown, and the beak is black. The eyes are brown. Weight about 18 grams, wing 72-73, tail 68-69 mm.
In males of the nominal breed, the crown is gray-brown with
a black border, contrasting with the long yellow-cream eyebrow. The ear covers
are blackish with a little buff on the posterior part. The sides of the neck
are gray. The mantle, back, and wings are brown, and the mantle with some bright
chestnut streaks. The rump and tail have a grey-brown colour. The whitish ends
of the medium and large covers form 2 narrow wing bars that are really only
seen at a very short distance.
The throat and breast are bright yellow-buff, and the flanks are
distinctly buff. Clear dark streaks can be seen on the chest and flanks. The
central part of the belly displays a buff hue that blends into the gray area. The irises are yellowish-brown, and the bill is blackish with an ochre spot
at the base of the lower mandible. The legs are dull orange-brown.
The female differs from her partner in its less rich brown
colors and in its less prominent streaks. Juveniles are less red than adults, and the patterns of their heads and undersides stand out less. There are large brown
spots on their chest and throat.
The Badia breed is somewhat smaller than the nominal breed.
It is also darker, with a richer chestnut mantle and more buff-ochre
underparts. The streaks on the flanks are reddish.
Montanelles accentors sing from the top of a bush or tree,
they emit melodious and quite powerful notes reminiscent of those of speckled
accentors. There are two types of singing: the first is really close to that of
the Speckled Accentor and the other is more buzzing. The contact call is a
trisyllabic 'dididi'.
Habitat
Montanelles accentors nest in the boreal and subarctic zone,
bordering the northern edge of coniferous and deciduous forests. They breed in
valleys, not far from river banks and mostly in tangles of trees and bushes.
They particularly appreciate willows (salix) and taiga spruces. During the
nesting period, they are also found in mountainous regions up to the tree line,
in plots composed of spruce and birch (Betula). In winter, these birds frequently
brush and thickets, especially when located along rivers and small streams.
Behavior character traits
Like some Prunellidae, especially black-throated accentors,
these birds are not very gregarious: they live alone, in pairs, or in small
groups. Montanelles accentors are highly migratory. The entire population
winters in central, and eastern China and as far as the Korean peninsula. They
leave the northern Urals and eastern Siberia in early September, but they still
remain until late October or early November in the south of their nesting
range. The return passage takes place at the end of March in Mongolia and in
April-May in Eastern Siberia. Arrival at the breeding grounds occurs in June.
During the winter period, vagrants are visible in western Europe, and Japan, but
also in the west of the North American continent (Alaska, British Columbia,
Washington State, and Idaho).
Food mode and diet
The diet consists mainly of insects. In winter, Montanelles
accentors also consume seeds, including coumarins (Empetrum), Amaranthaceae, and
Betulaceae (birch, alder, hazel). The young are fed insects, especially beetle
larvae. These birds feed mostly on land, pecking at the soil, leaves, and
grasses. They also sometimes prospect in bushes or trees. Feeding places are
sometimes close to snowfields.
Nesting reproduction
The breeding season runs from June to August. There are
probably 2 broods in the south of the range, but there is only one large one in
the Ural region. Little is known about the reproductive system and
territoriality of this species. The nominate montanella breed probably nests in
groups of 2-6 pairs, and the nests are separated by a short distance from each
other, forming a kind of loose colony. On the other hand, birds of the Badia
breed have nests distant by a fairly large distance.
The nest is a rather compact cup built with twigs, moss, leaves, and plant stems. It is garnished with fine herbs and horsehair. It is placed between 0 meters 50 and 8 meters above the ground on the fork of a small tree or in a thick brush. The laying consists of 4 to 6 eggs that are incubated by the female alone for about ten days. No additional information is available.
Distribution
Montanelles accentors are small passerines that nest in
northern Siberia on 2 sides of the Urals. They winter in Central Asia from
Altai to Manchuria. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe. Two subspecies are
officially recognized: the nominate race P. m. montanella breeds in extreme
northeastern Europe and in Western Siberia, its range continues eastward to the
Lena River. It winters in the Ob and Jenisei River region, north of Krasnoyarsk
and Altai to the Amur River basin. The breed P. m. badia breeds in northeastern
Siberia, from eastern Lena to the Anadyr region and to the western coasts of
the Sea of Okhotsk
Threats – protection
According to the Handbook, this species is not globally
threatened. Throughout their range, their density is quite variable, but they
are rather considered locally common, sparse, or rare. In the small European
part of their range, there were nearly 16,000 pairs, which is more than
anywhere else. Indeed, in other regions (tundra of northwestern Russia,
southeastern Taymyr Peninsula), there are fairly low densities, from 5 to 7
birds per square kilometer.
According to Birdlife, the range of this species is more
than 1,300,000 square kilometers. It is classified as the Least Concern.
References used
- Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan Vol 7, Salim Ali et Dillon Ripley
- Vol. 10 - Handbook of the Birds of the World, Josep del Hoyo-Andrew Elliott-David Christie
- Avibase, Lepage Denis
- BirdLife International, BirdLife International
- Wikipédia, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
- IOC World Bird List (v12.2), Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2022.
Other useful references
- Birdlife
- Avibase
- IUCN Red List
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