Class Aves Family Muscicapidae Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Passeriformes Genus Copsychus | |
Similar Andaman shama, White‑browed shama, Black shama, Rufous‑tailed shama, White‑vented shama |
White crowned shama eats superworms
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.
Contents
Juvenile white crowned shama feeding
Taxonomy
It is closely related to the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus), and is sometimes considered a subspecies of that species. In turn, the white-crowned shama has two subspecies:
The specific name was bestowed in honour of Hugh Edwin Strickland
Description
The 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. 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.
Aviculture
White-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.