Javan Shortwing
Brachypteryx montana
A small, dark songster of montane rainforest floor and undergrowth on Java. Male is overall slaty-gray but slightly paler on the belly. Female has a slaty-gray head and chest, rufous-brown tail, rump, wings and back, and a slightly paler orange-brown belly. Both sexes have thin, white eyebrows and long, black legs. Forages on the ground but also hops on logs and low branches. Male is superficially similar to Javan Blue Robin but the shortwing’s tail is shorter and it lacks the white forehead. Song is a series of random, tuneless whistles.
Identification
The Javan shortwing is a shy skulker, preferring to be on or near the ground, in the depths of dark vegetation, where it feeds on small insects, larvae, berries, seeds, sprouts and new buds of plants. The nest consists of moss and grass stems, placed in a dense shrub.
Taxonomy
The Javan shortwing was formally described in 1821 by the America naturalist Thomas Horsfield. He coined the present binomial name Brachypteryx montana.<p>This species was formerly named the white-browed shortwing and included many subspecies. It was split into five separate species based on the deep genetic difference between the populations coupled with the significant differences in plumage and vocalization. The new species are the Philippine shortwing (Brachypteryx poliogyna), the Bornean shortwing (Brachypteryx erythrogyna), the Sumatran shortwing (Brachypteryx saturata) and the Flores shortwing (Brachypteryx floris). The white-browed shortwing with its much reduced range was renamed the Javan shortwing. The species is now monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Brachypteryx montana
- Authority
- Horsfield, 1821
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Brachypteryx
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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