Gould's Shortwing

Gould's shortwing is a small passerine of the Old World flycatcher family, 12 to 13cm long and weighing 19 to 23g, found in the Himalayas (mainly Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Bhutan), Yunnan and northern Myanmar and Vietnam. It is chestnut above and dark grey below with small white spots or stars on the belly, with long brown legs and a black bill; the sexes are similar (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in the eastern Himalayas in rocky areas above the tree-line and winters at lower altitude in wooded valleys. It is the only species in the genus Heteroxenicus, and was formerly placed in Brachypteryx; the name commemorates the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould (1804–1881). Nothing is known about the nest or the eggs.