Brunei Darussalam, China (mainland) (B), Egypt, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan (B), Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia (B), Myanmar, North Korea, Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam.
Vagrant to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cambodia, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Norway, Poland, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Voice
Song is a rapidly delivered, well-structured musical warbling, including 'tri-tri-tri-tri, prt-prt, chi-chi-chi, srrrrt' and 'sivib-sivib-sivib'. Also a'pit' or 'pt', a clicking 'chick', a dry rolling 'trrrrt' and a rattling, trilled 'rit-tit-tit-tit...'.
rubescens (Blyth, 1845) - Breeds in Siberia from R Irtysh east to Kolyma basin and Sea of Okhotsk. Non-breeding southern and south-eastern Asia.
sparsimstriata Meise, 1934 - Breeds southern Siberia from Tomsk and Novosibirsk east to L Baikal area, south to northern Altai Mts and northern Mongolia. Non-breeding probably southern and south-eastern Asia.
certhiola (Pallas, 1811) - Breeds Transbaikalia east to south-eastern Siberia (south of Okhotsk coast) and north-eastern China (eastern from Da Hinggan Mts). Non-breeding south-eastern Asia.
centralasiae (Sushkin, 1925) - Breeds eastern Kazakhstan (L Zaysan south to Dzhungarskiy Alatau), north-eastern Kyrgyzstan (Karkara) and Russian and Gobian Altai south to northern China (south to eastern Tien Shan, Qaidam Basin and Ordos Plateau). Non-breeding probably India east to Myanmar.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east Asia Robson, C., 2000, New Holland ISBN 1 84330 118 0