CreatureData

Brown parrotbill

Paradoxornis unicolor (Hodgson, 1843)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor) is a species in the family Paradoxornithidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 34 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor)
Photo: Tisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the brown parrotbill

Weight
34 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the brown parrotbill live?

Not recorded

What is the brown parrotbill?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor) is a bird found in the central and eastern Himalayas. It is also known as the brown suthora. This is a grey-brown bird 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) long with a long tail and a characteristic small, yellowish, parrot-like bill. A dark stripe runs above the eyes and along the sides of the crown. The bird moves in small groups and will sometimes join mixed species foraging flocks. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal.

It breeds in bamboo and rhododendron scrub at altitudes of 2,700–3,400 m (8,900–11,200 ft), with some altitudinal migration down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in winter.

It was originally described by Brian Houghton Hodgson in the genus Hemirhynchus, this species was later moved to the genus Heteromorpha. It is now usually treated as a member of the family Paradoxornithidae, where its closest relative is the three-toed parrotbill. It is currently considered monotypic; two named subspecies, P. u. canaster, described by Thayer and Bangs in 1912 from Hsikang, and P. u. saturatior, described by Rothschild in 1921 from Yunnan, are generally not considered valid.

From the Wikipedia article “Brown parrotbill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown_parrotbill&oldid=1375949615), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the brown parrotbill endangered?

The brown parrotbill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the brown parrotbill classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyParadoxornithidae
  6. genusParadoxornis
  7. SpeciesParadoxornis unicolor (Hodgson, 1843)

Synonyms Cholornis unicolor, Cholornis unicolor unicolor, Heteromorpha unicolor, Paradoxornis unicolor saturatior, Suthora unicolor canaster

Other names and names in other languages (29)
  • paradoxorni unicolorCatalan
  • sýkořice šedoprsáCzech
  • gylfindro brownWelsh
  • Brun PapegøjenæbDanish
  • EinfarbpapageimeiseGerman
  • Einfarb-PapageimeiseGerman
  • unukolora paradoksornitoEsperanto
  • Picoloro unicolorSpanish
  • ruskokekonokkaFinnish
  • ruskonokkatimaliFinnish
  • Paradoxornis unicoloreFrench
  • smeđa papigokljunkaCroatian
  • Psittorinco brunoItalian
  • ヒマラヤダルマエナガJapanese
  • rudasis storasnapisLithuanian
  • brūnais apaļknābītisLatvian
  • Bruine DiksnavelmeesDutch
  • brunbuttnebbNorwegian
  • ogoniatka brązowaPolish
  • bico-adunco-unicolorPortuguese
  • bico-de-papagaio-castanhoPortuguese
  • Одноцветная сутораRussian
  • sutora hnedáSlovak
  • Smeđa papagajska senicaSerbian
  • brun papegojnäbbSwedish
  • Kahverengi PapağangagaTurkish
  • сутора бронзоваUkrainian
  • 褐鴉雀Chinese
  • 褐鸦雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the brown parrotbill

Other species in the same genus Paradoxornis.

LC, Least Concern

Reed parrotbill

Paradoxornis heudei

ParadoxornithidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBrown parrotbill vs Grey-headed parrotbillBrown parrotbill vs Spot-breasted parrotbillBrown parrotbill vs Reed parrotbillBrown parrotbill vs Black-breasted parrotbill

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the brown parrotbill?

An adult brown parrotbill weighs 34 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the brown parrotbill endangered?

The brown parrotbill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the brown parrotbill?

The brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor) belongs to the family Paradoxornithidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-parrotbill

MLA

“Brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-parrotbill.

BibTeX
@misc{brown_parrotbill_2026,
  title = {Brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-parrotbill},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}