Russet Bush Warbler (Locustella mandelli) [XC79120]
by Frank Lambert from , India (song)
Russet Bush Warbler (Locustella mandelli) [XC794064]
by Bram Piot from Pak Sha O, Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong, Laos (song)
Subspecies
Part of a species complex that also includes Taiwan Grasshopper-warbler (Locustella alishanensis), Brown Grasshopper-warbler (Locustella luteoventris), Benguet Grasshopper-warbler (Locustella seebohmi), Javan Bush Warbler (Locustella montis) and Timor Bush Warbler (Locustella timorensis) and some or all are often treated as conspecific. Despite having been originally described from Sikkim, presence in India was for long overlooked, presumably owing to its superficial similarity to Brown Grasshopper-warbler (Locustella luteoventris). References in older literature to "brown" bush-warblers building two types of nest (open cup and domed) indicate possible differences in nest construction between the two species. Specimens from Thailand and Myanmar with some similarities to subspecies idoneus are considered to be variants of nominate. Birds in central China (Sichuan) seem to be vocally somewhat different from other populations, and may represent an as yet undescribed taxon.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
mandelli (W.E. Brooks, 1875) - North-eastern India (eastern from Sikkim, Darjeeling and Assam), Bhutan, western and northern Myanmar, southern and central China (north to Sichuan), northern Thailand, northern Laos and northern Vietnam (Tonkin).
idoneus (Riley, 1940) - Langbian Plateau, in south-central Vietnam (Annam).
melanorhynchus (Rickett, 1898) - Breeds eastern China (Hubei south to Fujian). Non-breeding to south-eastern China (including Hong Kong).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet