Himalayan Bluetail Tarsiger rufilatus

Brightly-colored adult male is unmistakable in range: blazing sapphire blue with orange flanks and white throat and belly. Female is brown with a white throat, orange flanks, and pale blue rump and tail. Red-flanked Bluetail can be confusing where the two overlap in the latter’s migratory and winter range; note Himalayan’s brighter blue eyebrow and brighter, deeper blue upperparts in the male. Female is slightly more grayish than Red-flanked, but this identification can be much more difficult, and females may not be safely separable if not with male. Himalayan’s song is a simple, repeated “tcher-thcew-wee!”. Breeds in submontane forest up to the treeline; descends in the winter, often moving into edge habitats. A frequent sight along forest tracks.