Malayan Black Magpie
Platysmurus leucopterus
Glossy black bird with a long tail, a heavy hooked bill, and a weak tuft of a crest. Also note the bright white stripe on the wing. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests. Moves in pairs and flocks, calling to keep in contact. Sometimes moves with mixed-species flocks. Quite vocal, giving a range of odd calls, including raucous and vibrant chatters given in series of varying speed, as well as hoarse rasping notes. Formerly grouped with Bornean Black Magpie under the more generic “Black Magpie.”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Platysmurus leucopterus
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1824)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Corvidae
- Genus
- Platysmurus
Range and habitat
It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. The Bornean black magpie (P. atterimus) was formerly considered a subspecies. The natural habitats of the Malayan black magpie are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Tropical Mockingbird
Mimus gilvus
Tropical counterpart to Northern Mockingbird of North America. Common and often conspicuous in open and semi-open lowland tropical areas, perching on roadside wires and bare snags. Silvery gray above and whitish below with a long rounded tail that is black with a bold white tip. Lacks the big white wing patches of Northern Mockingbird, and the ranges of the two species do not really overlap. Varied calls and loud mimic song is much like Northern Mockingbird.
Himalayan Swiftlet
Aerodramus brevirostris
Gray-brown swiftlet with a pale gray rump and a squared-off tail. The westernmost ranging species in the genus and the only member throughout much of its range. Smaller than most other swifts in range except for House Swift, which is black overall with a sharp white rump and throat. Tends to travel in small to medium-sized flocks, often swooping low over bodies of water. Builds dark bowl-shaped nests in closely-clustered colonies under rocky overhangs, in caves, and in old buildings. Gives clicking calls and twitters, especially when near colonies.
Inland Thornbill
Acanthiza apicalis
Small bird with thin pointed bill. Upperparts gray-brown, underparts off-white, with dark streaking on throat and breast, reddish-brown rump, white flecking on forecrown, and dark red eye. Often cocks tail upright. Similar Brown Thornbill has brown rather than gray-brown upperparts. Chestnut-rumped and Buff-rumped thornbills both have pale eyes, unstreaked chest, and mostly black tails. Inhabits dry woodland and scrubland, also in wetter habitats in southwestern edges of its range.
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