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Commonly known as Guilaim and Huang Bolao, the English name literally translates as long-tailed Burao. Brown-backed Burrow is characterized by thick black eye stripes or crowns, black wings, and a long tail black tail, with gray upper body and brown lower body. It is widely distributed in the eastern coast and south of China, including Taiwan, Hainan and other provinces, and is a very common resident bird. Fierce in nature, with strong beaks and claws, Berlau is good at preying on insects, birds and other animals, and can even kill birds larger than itself, such as partridges. Discovered in the 1990s in Jiangxi, China, the Black Berlao is considered to be the black type of brown-backed Burrow, which is not enough to be listed as an independent bird species.
Appearance characteristics
Slightly larger (25 cm) with a long tail of brown, black and white Berau. Black-winged, long-tailed black-tailed.
Adults: forehead, eye stripes, black wings and tail, with a white spot on the top of the head and back of the neck gray or gray-black wings; The back, waist and body are reddish brown chin, larynx, chest and center of the abdomen are white. The black extension of the head and back varies with subspecies.
Sub-adults: darker in color, with cross-stripes on both sides and back, and grayish on the head and nape of the neck. Dark black burrows (heberau) are not uncommon in Hong Kong and Guangdong, and are occasionally found in other locations in the region.
The iris is brown; The mouth and feet are black. Calls: Rough, harsh screams and trembling chirps, sometimes mimicking the calls of other birds.
Habits of life
In addition to paired activities during the breeding period, they are mostly individually active. It is common in trees and shrublands alongside forests, farmlands, orchards, river valleys, roadsides and woodland belts, and sometimes brown-backed berau also looks east and west on the power lines in the fields and roadsides, and as soon as he finds prey, he immediately flies to hunt it down and then returns to eat it. Fierce, with strong beaks and claws, it is good at preying on insects, birds and other animals, and can even kill birds larger than itself, such as partridges. Usually, he often perchs on the reeds, looks east and west, and when he sees food on the ground, he will go straight down to hunt and kill. It can also prey on flying insects and birds in the air.
During breeding, it often stands on the top of the tree and sings loudly, its sound is like the repeated whistle of 'zhijia- zhijia- zhijia-zhiga', and can imitate the chirping of other birds such as red-billed acacia birds and yellow orioles. Sometimes while singing, he flew several meters out of the top of the tree into the air, quickly flapped his wings, and then stopped where he was. It is very territorial, especially during breeding, often defending its own territory and driving away invaders, and when it sees people or is emotional, the tail often swings to both sides.
Feeding habits
It is a carnivorous bird that feeds mainly on animal foods such as insects. The main food eaten is the Coleoptera golden turtle shell and hemiptera, which is a carnivorous bird that feeds mainly on animal foods such as insects. The main foods eaten are Coleoptera Golden Turtle Shell, Hemiptera, Orthoptera Locust, Crickets, Grasshoppers, Leatheroptera Locusts, Dragonfly Bean Lady, Hymenoptera Wasps, Ants and so on. It also preys on birds, frogs, lizards and rodents, and occasionally eats small amounts of plant seeds.
Grow and reproduce
Breeds between April and July. In subtropical areas such as Hainan Island, breeding began earlier in March, and juveniles were seen at the end of April, and breeding began in April in Sichuan. At the beginning of April, male birds began to occupy the nest area, and every morning they stood on the top branches of trees in the nest area and chirped, driving away the same species of male birds that entered the field. Pairs and nesting begin in mid-to-late April. Nest on trees or tall shrubs, 1-8 meters above the ground. The nest is cup-shaped and is made of grass stems, young bamboo leaves, fern leaves and other debris. The size of the nest is 15-16 cm in outer diameter, 6-10 cm in inner diameter, 10-11 cm in height and 4-6 cm in depth. Male and female singing participate in nesting activities together.
3-6 eggs are laid per clutch, usually 4-5. The eggs are pale cyan, milky, pink, or pale greenish-gray in color, and are covered with brown or reddish-brown spots of varying sizes. Females incubate eggs for 12-14 days, but up to 21 days have been reported, with males undertaking vigilance tasks and foraging and feeding the females during the incubation of the eggs. Both parents breed their chicks together and strive to protect their foraging areas. The nesting period is 13-14 days, and in the first few days after the young bird leaves the nest, the parent bird is still fed and has been active in the field for 1-2 months before leaving. One month after leaving the nest, young birds can prey on their own, which means that they can feed themselves, then they will leave their parents' territory and go out to create their own new world. The Brown-backed Burrow club guards a field of its own year-round and does not change with the seasons. Male and female birds jointly guard the territory, a single bird does not have its own territory, their territorial concept is very strong, adjacent territories are clearly demarcated from each other, and few individuals invade the adjacent area. In the face of intruders, the male bird is usually dealt with, attacking and driving away, while the female bird continues to shout warnings from the side, as if waving the flag for her husband. Especially during the incubation of the young dimension, the vigilance and aggression of its door will be stronger, during which even some birds of prey dare not rush into their territory, and even when someone approaches its door, it will loudly threaten and swoop down, which is really a pair of brave fighters defending freedom and sovereignty.
