Friday, 27 March 2015

The oriental magpie-robin, Female

The oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds. The oriental magpie-robin is national bird for Bangladesh. People of Bangladesh recognize it as "Doyel".

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Magpie-robin, Male

The magpie-robins or shamas (from shama, Hindi for C. malabaricus)[1] are medium-sized insectivorous birds (some also eat berries and other fruit) in the genera Copsychus and Trichixos. They were formerly in the thrush family Turdidae, but are more often now treated as part of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The Seychelles magpie-robin is one of the most endangered birds in the world, with a population of less than 250, although this is a notable increase from just 16 in 1970.

These are African and Asian garden and forest dwelling species.

Species list:

Madagascan magpie-robin, Copsychus albospecularis
Oriental magpie-robin, Copsychus saularis also known as the Doel, this is the national bird of Bangladesh
Philippine magpie-robin, Copsychus mindanensis
White-rumped shama, Copsychus malabaricus
White-crowned shama, Copsychus stricklandii
Andaman shama, Copsychus albiventris
Seychelles magpie-robin, Copsychus sechellarum
White-browed shama, Copsychus luzoniensis
White-vented shama, Copsychus niger
Black shama, Copsychus cebuensis
Rufous-tailed shama, Trichixos pyrropyga

Black-naped Monarch

The black-naped monarch or black-naped blue flycatcher (Hypothymis azurea) is a slim and agile passerine bird belonging to the family of monarch flycatchers. They are sexually dimorphic with males having a distinctive black patch on the back of the head and a narrow black half collar ("necklace") while the female is duller and lacks the black markings. They have a call that is similar to that of the Asian paradise flycatcher and in tropical forest habitats pairs may join mixed-species foraging flocks. Populations differ slightly in plumage colour and sizes.