Magpie-robin
| Magpie-robins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Copsychus Wagler, 1827 |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
The magpie-robins or shamas (from shama, Bengali and Hindi for C. malabaricus)[1] are medium-sized insectivorous birds (some also eat berries and other fruit) in the genus Copsychus. They were formerly in the thrush family Turdidae, but are now treated as part of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. They are garden and forest dwelling species found in Africa and Asia.
The genus Copsychus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1827.[2] The type species was subsequently designated as the oriental magpie-robin.[3] The name Copsychus is from the Ancient Greek kopsukhos or kopsikhos for a "blackbird".[4]
The genus contains 12 species:[5]
- Indian robin (Copsychus fulicatus)
- Oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis)
- Rufous-tailed shama (Copsychus pyrropygus)
- Madagascan magpie-robin (Copsychus albospecularis)
- Seychelles magpie-robin (Copsychus sechellarum)
- Philippine magpie-robin (Copsychus mindanensis)
- White-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus)
- Andaman shama (Copsychus albiventris)
- White-crowned shama (Copsychus stricklandii)
- White-browed shama, (Copsychus luzoniensis)
- White-vented shama, (Copsychus niger)
- Black shama, (Copsychus cebuensis)
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.
References
- ↑ Jobling, James A. (1991). A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Oxford University Press. p. 216. ISBN 0-19-854634-3.
- ↑ Wagler, Johann Georg (1827). Systema avium (in Latin). Stuttgart: J.G. Cottae. p. 306 (Gracula).
- ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 64-65.
- ↑ Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E., eds. "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". World Bird List Version 6.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.