The white-crowned shama (Copsychus stricklandii) is a bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is endemic to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo.[1]
| White-crowned shama | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Sabah, Malaysia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Copsychus |
| Species: | C. stricklandii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Copsychus stricklandii | |
| Subspecies | |
| |
Taxonomy
editIt is closely related to the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus), and is sometimes considered a subspecies of that species.[2] In turn, the white-crowned shama has two subspecies:[3]
- C. s. stricklandii Motley & Dillwyn, 1855 – north and north-eastern Borneo, including Banggi Island
- C. s. barbouri (Bangs & Peters, 1927[4]) (Maratua Shama) – Maratua Islands
The specific name was bestowed in honour of Hugh Edwin Strickland[5]
Description
editThe white-crowned shama is about 21–28 cm (8.3–11.0 in) in length (including a 7 cm (2.8 in) tail in adult males) and 31–42 g (1.1–1.5 oz) in weight. Mainly blue-black upperparts contrast with orange-rufous underparts. It has a white rump and black throat. It is largely similar in appearance to the white-rumped shama subspecies C. m. suavis, which replaces it in southern and western Borneo, and hybridises with it where the ranges meet.[6] It differs in having a white, rather than black, crown. The distinctive Maratua form C. s. barbouri is about 20% longer than the nominate, and has an all-black tail, rather than white outer rectrices.[1]
Aviculture
editWhite-crowned shamas are bred by local aviculturists in Borneo as cage-birds valued for their singing ability. They continue to be trapped as it is believed that wild-caught young birds are stronger, and better songsters, than those bred in captivity.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Phillipps, Quentin; Phillipps, Karen (2011). Phillipps' Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo. Oxford, UK: John Beaufoy Publishing. ISBN 978-1-906780-56-2.
- ^ "White-rumped Shama". Species factsheet. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2013). "IOC World Bird List (v 5.3): Chats, Old World flycatchers". IOC. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ Bangs & Peters, pp.239-240 in Birds from Maratua Island, off the east coast of Borneo, Occasional papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, v5 (1927)
- ^ "Three Men and a Bird". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.86, Part 1, pp.113-119 (June 2013).
- ^ "White-rumped Shama". HBW Alive. Lynx Editions. Retrieved 2013-11-15.