Grandala

Grandala
File:Grandalas in Nepal.jpg
Grandalas in Nepal
Conservation status
Least Concern Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Genus:	Grandala Hodgson, 1843
Species:	G. coelicolor
Binomial name
Grandala coelicolor Hodgson, 1843

The grandala (Grandala coelicolor) is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is the only species in the genus Grandala. It is an insectivore and frugivore. It ranges across the northwestern and northeastern Indian subcontinent and northeast to western China, existing primarily at high to very high altitudes in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. It is found in Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, as well as Tibet and other areas of China north to southeast Gansu.

Description

The body length of the grandala is 19-23 cm, and it weighs from 38–52 g. The plumage of the male is intense dark blue, with the tail and wings blacker. The plumage of the female is greyish-brownish with fine white streaks on the underparts; rump greyish-blue; the tip and underside of the wing feathers are white. Birds usually make the sounds "dew-ee" and "dewee". In young birds, the plumage is similar to females, but does not have a bluish tint on the rump and upper tail integuments.

Behaviour

Grandala is a social bird; they feed on insects, and small fruit such as Vaccinium berries.

Distribution

The grandala is a partial altitudinal migrant, breeding in high alpine scrub and meadows at 3,900–5,500 m altitude in summer, and descending to 2,000–4,300 m in winter, when it can be found in orchards. In India it is found in the Himalayas from Kashmir (Kishenganga and Liddar valleys), Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand through Nepal, Sikkim, and east to Arunachal Pradesh. Though grandala is a common bird in that region, no scientific studies have been conducted.

Gallery

• Illustration of male bird from The genera of birds, c. 1849
  Illustration of male bird from The genera of birds, c. 1849
• Illustration from Cassell's Book of Birds, c. 1875
  Illustration from Cassell's Book of Birds, c. 1875
• Illustration by John Gould, c. 1850s
  Illustration by John Gould, c. 1850s
• File:Grandala DSC 0386.jpg
• File:Grandala DSC 0387.jpg
• Three blue males and a grey female of Grandalas
  Three blue males and a grey female of Grandalas

External links

• Grandala at Birds of the World website
• Meet The Grandala