Black-throated Accentor

The black-throated accentor is a dunnock-sized bird, 13.5–14 centimetres long. It has a streaked dark brown back that somewhat resembles a house sparrow's, but adults have a black crown, face patch and throat and a white supercilium. The breast is orange and the belly white with orange stripes, and like other accentors it has an insect-eater's fine pointed bill. Sexes are similar, but winter birds and juveniles are less contrasted, and the dark throat may be almost absent in young birds. (Wikipedia, general species account)

This small passerine is found in the Ural, Tian Shan and Altai Mountains and is migratory, wintering in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries in scrub or cultivation. It builds a neat nest low in spruce thickets and lays three to five unspotted blue eggs. The call is a fine ti-ti-ti and the song is similar to the dunnock's pleasant twittering. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe. (Wikipedia, general species account)