November 7, 2024 - White-throated Bushchat (Saxicola insignis) Found in open grassy habitats, often around water, these bushchats breed in parts of Mongolia and southern Russia and winter in the southern Himalayas. They eat insects, including beetles and moths, dropping onto their prey from perches or sometimes capturing it in flight and may follow large mammals, including humans, to hunt fleeing insects. Breeding in June and July, they build bulky cup-shaped nests from dry grass, wool, feathers, and dry moss in earth walls or rock crevices. Females incubate clutches of four or five eggs alone but both parents care for the chicks. They are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to population declines from loss of their wintering habitat.
