Black-crowned Barwing
Actinodura sodangorum
The black crown and wingtips of this gray-headed barwing set it apart from other species within its range. Bright white eyering gives it a “goggled” appearance. Found at mid to high elevations, in both dense mature forest as well as in secondary growth and scrubby edges. Forages singly or in pairs, usually at upper levels. Song is a brief series of twittering hoots ending in one or two longer, drawn-out whistles.
Identification
The black-crowned barwing is the only bird in the Actinodura to have a black crown. It has transverse barring on the wings (wingbars) and presence of a crest, which are characters of the Genus Actinodura (barwings).<p>The colouration in black-crowned barwings is similar between the sexes. They have a grey head and nape, black crown and lore (space between eye and beak), white eye rings, dark brown irises, and dark beak with a flesh coloured tip. Its throat is streaked with black-brown on a base of rufous-orange that matches the breast and belly area. The posterior parts of the body (mantle, back, rump, and uppertail coverts) are olive-brown with indistinct dark bars. The wings have fine bars on the scapulars (upper wing section) and black-brown with chestnut or orange-buff bars on most of the flight feathers (primaries and secondaries). Their long tail is graduated chestnut with white tips and broad black bars.<p>[See External Links for Images.]<p>The lengths are approximately:
Taxonomy
The first black-crowned barwing sighting was reported in April 1996 at Ngoc Linh, Vietnam. Prior to survey, the central highland area of Vietnam was mostly ornithologically undiscovered. Many observations were made by Jonathon Charles Eames and Roland Eve, but took until 17 March 1998 to trap a male bird. An official species description was later published in 1999.<p>Black-crowned barwings consist of a monotypic group; having no other discovered subspecies. They were quickly classified into Actinodura since they are very similar to Actinodura ramsayi in appearance. Three plumage differences set them apart; the lores are black, the posterior is darker olive-brown, and the tail feathers are darker with narrower white tips.
- Scientific name
- Actinodura sodangorum
- Authority
- Eames, JC, Trai Trong Le, Nguyen Cu & Eve, 1998
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Leiothrichidae
- Genus
- Actinodura
Range and habitat
They are residents of three locations in Laos and 7 locations in Vietnam. They are also found in Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) including the DakChung Plateau, Lo Xo Pass, and Ngoc Linh.<p>Their natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, and plantations. Although they use degraded/cleared forests, they are mostly found in secondary growth or evergreen forests.<p>Their elevation maximum was at 2400m, with observers noting less sightings above 2200m. The minimum elevation range could not be determined properly since the site contained loss of forest habitat below 1500m, though there were sightings at 1000m.<p>[See External Links for Distribution map.]
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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