Animalia Life

Prinia subflava
SUBFAMILY
Sylviinae
TAXONOMY
Motacilla subflava Gmelin, 1789. Subspecies inornata Sykes, 1832.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Plain prinia; French: Prinia modeste; German: Braunkopfprinie; Spanish: Prinia de Dorsos Castaсos.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
5.1–5.5 in (13–14 cm); 0.3–0.4 oz (7–11.5 g). Mmedium to large warbler with short rounded wings and a fairly long, graduated tail. Upperparts uniformly rufous-brown to gray-brown, underparts whitish. Short whitish eye line. Legs long, bill relatively short, slightly decurved.
DISTRIBUTION
Sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia, from Indian subcontinent to China, Taiwan, most of mainland Southeast Asia.
HABITAT
Lowlands; grassland and savanna, wetlands, mangroves, scrub, forest clearings and edges.
BEHAVIOR
Active, vocal and conspicuous. Often in pairs or family groups. Males territorial, defending year-round by singing. Apparently sedentary, but movement may occur in parts of range during dry season. Duetting occasionally occurs.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Forages in vegetation, gleaning insects and sometimes taking nectar.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Nest is an oval of woven grasses with a side-top entrance. Two to five eggs are incubated for 13–14 days. Young, fed by both parents, fledge after 13–17 days, but remain with parents 2–3 weeks.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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