White-throated Bushchat

The White-throated Bushchat (Saxicola insignis) is a small migratory passerine of montane grasslands and shrublands in Central Asia. Within the Central Asian Flyway (CAF), it breeds in the Altai region of southern Russia and western and central Mongolia, migrating south to winter in the alluvial grasslands of northern India and Nepal. The species breeds in alpine and subalpine meadows, rocky slopes, and montane scrub, while wintering in tall floodplain grasslands, reedbeds, and riverine scrub. It feeds primarily on insects and other terrestrial invertebrates, foraging from low perches and on the ground. Globally classified as Vulnerable, the species is threatened mainly by the loss and degradation of its wintering grasslands through agricultural conversion, drainage, overgrazing, inappropriate grassland management, and flooding, highlighting the importance of conserving floodplain grasslands across its migratory range.