Elachuridae – Elachura

Spotted Elachura Elachura Formosa. Discovered only a decade or so ago, it was first placed with eight other others in the Wren-babbler family in the genus Spelaeornis.  It is now placed in its own family. Not surprisingly, not much is known of its biology, and future field work and research is needed.

The Spotted Elachura (formerly Spotted Wren-babbler is a species of passerine bird found in the forests of the eastern Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Molecular phylogenetic studies (2014) provided evidence that it was distinct from the babblers and part of a basal lineage (one that diverged early) with no other close living relatives within the passerine bird clade Passerida. This led to the creation of a new family, Elachuridae, to accommodate this one species (a monotypic taxon).

Spotted Elachura Elachura Formosa – ©Dubi Shapiro

It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It favours undergrowth and dense thickets of this type of forest, with a preference for thick fern ground cover, mossy rocks and decaying trunks of fallen trees and brushwood, often near a stream, creek or gulley, long grass, and scrub.

Little is known about their foraging or specific dietary preferences, other than that they are mainly insectivores. Nor is much known about their breeding habits with just one nest description of a deep, partially domed cup built of grass, leaves, twigs, and other material, lined with feathers. This nest was found on the ground, concealed by vegetation, and it contained 3 or 4 eggs. No other information on its breeding biology is known.