Birds of Malaysia @ mynameistank64: Male Blue-winged Leafbird

15 January 2011

Male Blue-winged Leafbird

The Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis cochinchinensis) is a species of leafbird found in forest and second growth from far north-eastern India and throughout Southeast Asia as far east as Borneo and as far south as Java. It commonly includes Jerdon's Leafbird (C. jerdoni) from the Indian Subcontinent, and the Bornean Leafbird (C. kinabaluensis) from northern Borneo as subspecies, but differs from both in measurements and morphology, with Jerdon's lacking any blue to the flight feathers, and Bornean having a distinctive male-like female plumage. The distribution of the Blue-winged and the Bornean Leafbird are known to approach each other, but there is no evidence of intergradation.

The male is green-bodied with a yellow-tinged head, black face and throat. It has a blue moustachial line. The female differs in that it has a greener head and blue throat, and young birds are like the female but without the blue throat patch.It is common to fairly common throughout most of its range, and therefore considered to be of least concern byBirdLife International.

The superficially similar Golden-fronted Leafbird lacks blue in the flight feathers and tail, and has a golden forehead. As in other leafbirds, the call of the Blue-winged Leafbird consists of a rich mixture of imitations of the calls of various other species of birds.

References

BirdLife International (2006). Chloropsis cochinchinensis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006.www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.

Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6

Wells, D. R. (2005). Chloropsis cochinchinensis (Blue-winged Leafbird). P. 264 in: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, & D. A. Christie. eds. (2005). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.