Large Niltava
Niltava grandis
Typical niltava: male bright blue, female plain brown. Male is bright electric purplish-blue above and very dark blue below. Female is dark brown with rusty tones in the wings and an iridescent blue patch on the neck. Southeast Asian females have a pale powder-blue crown and nape. Lack of a bright white throat patch separates female from female Rufous-bellied and Fujian Niltavas. Small Niltava is similar in plumage, but much smaller and less heavyset. Male White-tailed Robin can be surprisingly similar but is proportionally smaller-headed and larger-bodied and has a wider tail with two bright white patches on it. Inhabits dense submontane forests, where it can be difficult to spot in dense foliage; often encountered making forays from a perch. Song is an ascending series of 3-4 short, highly musical whistled notes.
Taxonomy
The large niltava was formally described in 1842 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth based on specimens collected in Darjeeling, India. He coined the binomial name Chaïtaris grandis. The large niltava is now placed with six other niltavas in the genus Niltava that was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist Brian Hodgson.<p>Four subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Niltava grandis
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1842)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Niltava
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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