White-parted scissors tail
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White-parted Scissorstail ( Enicurus leschenaulti ) |
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| Enicurus leschenaulti | ||||||||||||
| ( Vieillot , 1818) |
The white-headed scissorstail ( Enicurus leschenaulti ) is a songbird species from the flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). Its Southeast Asian distribution area extends from the eastern Himalayas via Indochina to the Wallace Line . It inhabits fast flowing waters in dense, shady forests.
description
The white-headed scissor tail is about the size of a throttle with a body length of 25 to 28 cm. It weighs between 27 and 38 g, according to some data up to 53 g. The tail is very long and forked deep, the control feathers are regularly stepped. The beak is black. Legs and feet are pink. There is no sexual dimorphism .
In adult birds of the nominate form , the forehead is white down to the vertex. The black color of the upper side extends to the middle chest, over the upper back and the shoulder feathers. The lower back, rump and underside are white. The wings are black except for a white band. The central control feathers are black with white tips that form a striped pattern. The two outer control springs are white.
Birds in juvenile dress are similar to adult animals, but are more brown in color on the top and yellowish brown on the throat. The chest is dashed, the belly is clouded brown and the flanks are brown.
Distribution and existence
The distribution area of the white-headed scissors tail is in the eastern Orientalis . It stretches from the eastern Himalayas eastward via Myanmar and Indochina , in southern China (including Hainan ) from the extreme east of Qinghai and western Sichuan and Yunnan eastward to the coast. The species is also found in the south of the Malay Peninsula , on Sumatra , Nias , the Batu Islands , Java , Bali and Borneo .
The white-parted scissors tail is not threatened and is described as common to common in many parts of the range.
Geographic variation
Six subspecies are recognized, of which E. l. bornensis is now often outsourced as a separate species due to genetic studies.
The species varies in body size and length of the (outer) control feathers, the extent of the white forehead and the wing band.
- E. l. indicus Hartert , 1909 - from the eastern Himalayas eastward to Myanmar, southern China (Yunnan), western, northern and eastern Thailand and Indochina.
- E. l. sinensis Gould , 1866 - southern and eastern China and Hainan
- E. l. frontalis Blyth , 1847 - central and southern Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Nias and Borneo lowlands.
- E. l. borneensis ( Sharpe , 1889) - Borneo highlands.
- E. l. chaseni Meyer de Schauensee , 1940 - Batu Islands.
- E. l. leschenaulti ( Vieillot , 1818) - Java and Bali.
hikes
The species is mostly a resident bird , but it migrates locally to lower elevations in the cold season. Evidence from Bangladesh come exclusively from the winter, so the type apparently in the region of the northeastern Indian subcontinent may partially migratory is.
habitat
The white-crowned scissortail inhabits fast-flowing, rock-interspersed waters that run through dense and shady evergreen forests and can range in size from small trickles to large streams. Sometimes the species can also be found in dark ravines with almost no water and in southern China it has even been found in septic tanks and drainage ditches.
The altitude distribution is mostly below 750 m, but in the Himalayas it ranges from 300 m to 1200 m.
nutrition
The diet consists of insects such as beetles , water striders , springtails, and caterpillars . The white-parted scissorstail looks for food in the water and from the bank, on rocks and damp stream beds. It rarely happens that he submerges like dippers .
Reproduction
The breeding season of the white-parted scissors tail varies depending on the geographical location. It usually ranges from March or April to June, July or August, but on Java from October to May. Second broods were sometimes found in China.
The nest is a relatively large, loose bowl made of moss, grass, leaves and bark fibers, which is lined with leaf skeletons and remains of leaves. It is erected on ledges, between large stones, between tree roots or in hollows under bushes. The nesting site is typically quite humid and is close to running water. In one case, a nest was found behind a waterfall that the birds had to fly to. The clutch comprises between two and five eggs, which are speckled finely reddish brown to purple on a greyish white to cream or pale pink background.
literature
- Nigel Collar: Spotted Forktail (Enicurus maculatus) (2005), in: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive , Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2014
Individual evidence
Unless otherwise stated, the information in this article has been taken from the source listed under “Literature”.
- ↑ Robert G. Moyle, Menno Schilthuizen, Mustafa A. Rahman, Frederick H. Sheldon: Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the white-crowned forktail Enicurus leschenaulti in Borneo , Journal of Avian Biology, 2005, Volume 36, Issue 2, p. 96– 101, doi : 10.1111 / j.0908-8857.2005.03510.x
Web links
- Enicurus leschenaulti in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed September 29, 2015.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Enicurus leschenaulti in the Internet Bird Collection
- Photos of Enicurus leschenaulti in the Oriental Bird Club image database , accessed on September 29, 2015