Spotted Grebe (scientific name: Muscicapa striata): Weighs 14-19 g and is 14-17 cm long. Spotted grebes have similar plumage. The underparts are greyish brown. The forehead , crown , and pillows have dark brown central stripes , some of which are vaguely visible on the back. The upper coverts at the waist and tail are yellowish brown. The tail is brown with pale brown feathers. The wings are brown , with pale yellow or white margins on the wings and feathers , with the primary flight feathers having a narrower pale margin and the secondary flight feathers and upper winged coverts having a wider pale margin. The eyes are pale greyish white, the eye circles are yellowish white, the ear cover feathers are light brown, and the sides of the head and neck are gray with inconspicuous brown stripes. The underside is white sometimes tinged with yellow skin on both sides, brown stripes on the thorax and two flanks, and milky white under the wings and axillary feathers. The iris is brown, the mouth is black brown, the base of the lower mouth is flesh colored, and the feet are black.
China is distributed in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and other places
It mainly inhabits opener forests such as sparse forests, shrubs and plantations, and also often appears in orchards, courtyards and groundside shrubs and trees near humans, as well as treeless slopes and semi-desert areas where shrubs grow. In China, it is mainly a summer migratory bird, which migrates to Xinjiang in April and migrates from September to October. Except for the breeding period, he often acts alone, has quiet and tame sex, and is not afraid of people. It is often standing vertically on a horizontal branch or pole, the tail swings up and down from time to time, if an insect flies over, it immediately flies to catch it, and then buys it back on the original perch, and also breeds to fly to the ground to hunt. It feeds mainly on insects and larvae of insects such as Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, hymenoptera, etc., and also eats other invertebrate foods such as locusts, beetles, and spiders.
The breeding season is from May to July. Nesting begins immediately after reaching the breeding ground, usually on branches between the horizontal branches and trunks of the trees, between cracked bark gaps and shallow tree holes, at a height of 1-6 m, mostly at 1-2 m, and also between shrubs and aboveground rock gaps, especially in uncultivated areas. The nest is cup-shaped, mainly composed of moss, fine branches, dry grass stems, grass leaves and other materials, with fine roots and animal hair on the inner pad, and some nests also have moss and cobwebs outside the nest, camouflaged like the trunk color. The size of the nest is 8-10 cm outer diameter, 6-7 cm inner diameter, height 4-5 cm, depth -2-3 cm. Nests are shared by male and female birds, and each nest can be built in 5-6 days. Eggs are laid as soon as the nest is built, usually 4-5 eggs per clutch, and occasionally as few as 3 to 6. Eggs sea green