Prunella collaris

The alpine accentor (Prunella collaris) is a small passerine bird in the family Prunellidae. The Alpine accentor was described by the Austria naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1769. He coined the binomial name Sturnus collaris and specified the type locality as the Carinthia region of southern Austria. The specific epithet is from the Latin collaris 'of the neck'. This species is now placed in the genus Prunella that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1816. The Alpine accentor, along with the Altai accentor is sometimes separated from the other accentors, into the genus Laiscopus. The word 'accentor' is from post-classical Latin and means a person who sings with another. The genus name Prunella is from the German Braunelle, 'dunnock', a diminutive of braun, 'brown'. Nine subspecies are recognised: This is a robin-sized bird at 15-17.5 cm in length, slightly larger than its relative, the dunnock. It has a streaked brown back, somewhat resembling a house sparrow, but adults have a grey head and red-brown spotting on the underparts. It has an insectivore's fine pointed bill.