Identification
A rather dull-plumaged songbird of fields, grasslands, forest edges, and farmland, mostly at moderate and high elevations. Often sparsely distributed and difficult to find. Gray-brown above with a pale belly and blackish streaking on head and wings. Breeding males become black-billed and darker on the face, losing the pale eyebrow that is usually shown in other plumages. Typically found singly or in pairs, clambering about in grasses and shrubbery. Often sings from an exposed perch, giving a loud but dry, rolling series of notes, slower than the song of Striped Prinia. Visually very similar to Striped Prinia, but usually separated by range. In the area of overlap, female and non-breeding male Himalayan Prinias show weaker streaking on the back and a duller rufous panel in the wings. Breeding males are distinguished by their darker faces without an eye-stripe. Also similar to Burmese Prinia, but there is little or no overlap in range, and Himalayan Prinia is distinguished by having more streaking, especially along the sides of the breast.