White-breasted Parrotbill (Psittiparus ruficeps) [XC891962]
by Frank Lambert from Below Bompu Camp Eaglenest WLS, India (call)
White-breasted Parrotbill (Psittiparus ruficeps) [XC124937]
by Norbu from Thrumshingla National Park, Lhuntse, Bhutan (alarm call, call)
Subspecies
Has sometimes been placed in genus Psittiparus, along with Grey-headed Parrotbill (Psittiparus gularis) (and, by inference, Black-headed Parrotbill (Psittiparus margaritae)). Examination of museum specimens indicated that differences between subspecies magnirostris and bakeri were very slight, and former subspecies perhaps of dubious validity. Further study is required.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
ruficeps Blyth, 1842 - North-eastern India (Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh east to Mishmi Hills), Bhutan and adjacent southern China (south-eastern Xizang).
bakeri (E. J. O. Hartert, 1900) - South-eastern Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern Indian states south of R Brahmaputra, and extreme north-eastern Bangladesh, east to northern Myanmar and adjacent southern China (north-western Yunnan), disjunctly also in south-eastern and southern Myanmar. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Rufous-headed Parrotbill (Psittiparus bakeri).
magnirostris (Delacour, 1927) - Northern Laos and northern Vietnam (eastern Tonkin). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Rufous-headed Parrotbill (Psittiparus bakeri).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet