Black shama

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black shama
Copsychus cebuensis 1992 stamp of the Philippines.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Copsychus
Species:
C. cebuensis
Binomial name
Copsychus cebuensis
(Steere, 1890)

The black shama (Copsychus cebuensis) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the island of Cebu, Philippines.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and plantations. It has been sighted in several locations all across the island, the most important sites being the Central Cebu Protected Landscape, the forests of Alcoy and Argao, and the shrublands of , Consolacion. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Description and Taxonomy[]

EBird describes the bird as "A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland forest, bamboo, and scrub on Cebu, where it has a preference for valley bottoms. Male is entirely black with a glossy sheen, where the female is sooty gray with a rusty belly. Catches insects on the ground, in the undergrowth, or even on the wing. There are no other species of similar shape and size on Cebu. Song is a series of long, slightly out of tune, often quavering whistles."[2]

Habitat and Conservation Status[]

Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland primary forest and secondary forests . It is also seen in clearings and plantations as long as there dense undergrowth [3]An ongoing radio-tracking study found that the breeding territory in forest-edge habitats was 0.2-0.5 km2

The IUCN Red List classifies this bird as an endangered species with population estimates of 670 to 3,300 mature individuals with the belief that its population is on the lower estimate of that range. This species' main threat is habitat loss with wholesale clearance of forest habitats as a result of legal and illegal logging, mining and conversion into farmlands through Slash-and-burn and urbanization. Cebu underwent severe deforestation in 1890s and now just 0.03% or 15 km2 forest cover remains .Up until today, the forests of Cebu still receives hunting pressure and deforestation - further reducing what little there is remaining

This has led to many other species sharing its range to also be endangered. It also shares a habitat with the Cebu flowerpecker which is one of the most endangered birds in the world and other endangered species such as the Cebu brown dove, Cebu hawk-owl and Streak-breasted bulbul. This has led to many local extinctions of species such as Cebu warty pig and possibly Cebu amethyst brown dove and local extinctions of Philippine oriole,Blackish cuckooshrike, Bar-bellied cuckooshrike and Philippine hanging parrot.[4]

Occurs in the protected areas in Alcoy, Argao, Dalaguete,Tabunan and Boljoon protected forests but actual protection and enforcement is lax.

References[]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Copsychus cebuensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Black Shama". Ebird.
  3. ^ Allen, Desmond (2020). Birds of the Philippines. Barcelona: Lynx and Birdlife International Guides. pp. 318–319.
  4. ^ "Rediscovery of four Cebu endemic birds".

External links[]

Stub icon

This article about an Old World flycatcher is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""