Races:
Panurus biarmicus russicus C.L.Brehm, 1831

Synonyms

Panurus biarmicus sibiricus Bonaporte, 1856
Panurus biarmicus raddei Prazak, 1897
Panurus biarmicus alexandrovi Zarudny et Bilkevitch, 1916

Description

Male head grey; back, rump, rectrices and borders of secondary outer webs ochre; wine colour on upper tail coverts lighter; at female upper parts also lighter than nominate race. Local variability in various parts of area poorly differing by intensity of colouring (Northern Caucasus - dull colour, Ural river basin - dark colour, Syrdarya - light colour, Ile river - dark colour, Transbaykalye - light colour). These distinctions usually widely covered by individual variability. Abundant resident, in places common or rare breeding migrant. Inhabits reed-beds with scattered willow bushes often on lakes with fresh or salty water. On dispersal and in winter visits bush thickets, riparian forest and grass thickets. In northern areas appears in March – April. Breeding in separate pairs. Nest is built in reed or mace beds among dead stem heaps, in dense dry stems, in emptiness of floating reed stems islands, in Cormorant nest or reed fence of house at 5-20 cm above water. It is built by both partners from dry reed leaves and grass lined with plenty of reed panicles and fluff, with some feathers sometimes. Clutches of 4-8, usually 5-6 eggs in end April – end June. Both parents incubate and feed juveniles, which fledge in last decade of May – early July. At northern areas one brood is reared per year, in southern ones two or three probably. Repeated breeding after loss of fist nest (out of flooding when strong wind, or of raptor – Water Vole) is often. Autumn migration begins in September – October in flocks of 30-80 birds, which can fly very height. At Chokpak Pass registered in October – mid-November.

Distribution

Breeding practically everywhere in Kazakhstan, from Volga-Ural area and coastal islands at Mangyshlak up to Zaysan and Alakol' depressions, middle current of Ile river and Biylikol lake. In steppe zone distributes episodically, to northern Kazakhstan - Chany lake. Northern border is defined in Rybnyy Sokryl and Chelkar lakes, upper course of Irgiz river, Naurzum, at Borovoye and near Selety-Teniz lake. From steppe zone for winter it moves in desert zone. Occasionally migrating flocks observed at Chokpak Pass in foothills of Western Tien Shan.

References

Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005
Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999.