Collared Finchbill

Common name for a species of bird in the Pycnonotidae family of bulbuls and with the scientific name Spizixos semitorques, which is found in countries of the Far East, including China, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. This medium-sized songbird is dark olive-green with a black head and a narrow white collar on the throat, and a black-tipped tail. Akin to the Streak-eared Bulbul (fig.) and the Stripe-throated Bulbul (fig.), the Collared Finchbill has faint whitish streaks on the face and ear-coverts. These monogamous birds feed primarily on fruits, though in addition may also eat seeds and insects. The Collared Finchbill is also commonly known as Black-headed Finchbill, Chinese Finchbill, Japanese Finchbill, Collared Finch-billed Bulbul, and Swinhoe's Finch-billed Bulbul. It is reminiscent of the Crested Finchbill (Spizixos canifrons), a bulbul similar in appearance but with a crest, which is found in southern China and northern Southeast Asia, including in northern Thailand, where it is known as nok parod ngon pahk nah (นกปรอดหงอนปากหนา), literally ‘Crested Thick-bill Bulbul’. See also TRAVEL PICTURES. 回