Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis
A medium-sized robin with a broad white wingbar running from the shoulder to the tip of the wing. Note white outertail feathers, particularly when in flight. Males sport black-and-white plumage while the females are grayish brown and white. Juveniles resemble females, but have a scaly head and upperparts. They have a good repertoire of melodious calls and are known to imitate other bird calls. The most commonly heard call is a whistle given at dawn. Most often seen singing from a high exposed perch. These birds are often seen in cultivated areas, open woodlands, and gardens.
Identification
The oriental magpie-robin is 19 centimetres (7.5 in) long, including the long tail, which is usually held cocked upright when hopping on the ground. When they are singing a song the tail is normal like other birds. It is similar in shape to the smaller European robin, but is longer-tailed. The male has black upperparts, head and throat apart from a white shoulder patch. The underparts and the sides of the long tail are white. Females are greyish black above and greyish white under. Young birds have scaly brown upperparts and head.<p>The nominate race is found on the Indian subcontinent and the females of this race are the palest. The females of the Andaman Islands race andamanensis are darker, heavier-billed and shorter-tailed. The Sri Lankan race ceylonensis (formerly included with the peninsular Indian populations south of the Kaveri River) and southern nominate individuals have the females nearly identical to the males in shade. The eastern populations, the ones in Bangladesh and Bhutan, have more black on the tail and were formerly named erimelas. The populations in Myanmar (Burma) and further south are named as the race musicus. A number of other races have been named across the range, including prosthopellus (Hong Kong), nesiotes, zacnecus, nesiarchus, masculus, pagiensis, javensis, problematicus, amoenus, adamsi, pluto, deuteronymus and mindanensis. However, many of these are not well-marked and the status of some of them is disputed. Some, like mindanensis, have now been usually recognized as a full species (the Philippine magpie-robin). There is more geographic variation in the plumage of females than in that of the males.<p>It is mostly seen close to the ground, hopping along branches or foraging in leaf-litter on the ground with a cocked tail. Males sing loudly from the top of trees or other high perches during the breeding season.
Taxonomy
Genus: Copsychus; Family: Muscicapidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Copsychus saularis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Copsychus
Range and habitat
The oriental magpie-robin is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and eastern Pakistan, eastern Indonesia, Thailand, south China, Malaysia, and Singapore.<p>It is found in open woodland and cultivated areas often close to human habitations.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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