White-Bellied Erpornis is an Indian bird that bears a scientific name "Erpornis zantholeuca" or simply erpornis is a species of bird. It is the only member of the genus Erpornis. White-Bellied Erpornis is widely found in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Brahmaputra River Basin, Shillong, Meghalaya and the entire parts of Cherapunji and some scattered parts of Nagaland, Manipur, Imphal and the northern part of West Bengal.
Concentration of White-Bellied Erpornis
White-Bellied Erpornis is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The natural habitat of White-Bellied Erpornis is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests of Indian states and the Asian countries.
Description of White-Bellied Erpornis
White-Bellied Erpornis is formerly placed in Yuhina and often still misleadingly called "White-Bellied Yuhina". It is the most distinct member of this "genus" in its obsolete paraphyletic delimitation. White-Bellied Erpornis is by no means closely related to the Timaliidae (Old World babblers), where most of the former members of Yuhina are still placed. The Timaliidae are members of the superfamily Sylvioidea in infraorder Passeri, whereas the erpornis is the closest relative of the vireos (Vireonidae), which are a more ancient lineage of songbirds. Indeed, White-Bellied Erpornis now is usually included in the Vireonidae as one of their few Old World representatives.
Behaviour of White-Bellied Erpornis
In its coloration, morphology and acrobatic habits, White-Bellied Erpornis resembles a vireo quite a lot. However, White-Bellied Erpornis has a prominent crest like many Yuhinas, which together with the unusual biogeography has served to obscure its true relationships for a long time. The crested head, back, wings and tail of White-Bellied Erpornis are olivaceous or golden brown while the under parts are white.
Recognition of White-Bellied Erpornis
White-Bellied Erpornis is listed by the IUCN as being of "Least Concern" as it has a very wide range and is common within much of that range. It is estimated that there may be 10,000 to 100,000 breeding pairs in China and a similar number in Taiwan.
