Black-backed Sibia - BirdForum Opus

Alternative names: Black-capped Sibia; Dark-backed Sibia

Photo by Peter Ericsson
Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand, July 2006

Heterophasia melanoleuca

Identification

With 21 -23cm a slender, narrow-billed and long-tailed Babbler:

• Dark brown above
• Black head
• White below

Some subspecies (which are placed in Black-headed Sibia by some authorities) have grey to greyish-brown upper mantle.

Distribution

Found in the mountains of Myanmar, NW and W Thailand and NW Laos. Depending on the taxonomic boundary with Black-headed Sibia, also found in S Laos and Vietnam.
Generally common in its range.¹

Taxonomy

This species was long time considered to be conspecific with Black-headed Sibia.
Two to three subspecies recognized:

• H. m. melanoleuca in Southern Myanmar and Western Thailand^1,2
• H. m. castanoptera in South-eastern Myanmar^1,2
• H. m. radcliffei in Myanmar, North-western Thailand and North-western Laos¹

This species is also placed in the genus Malacias and the scientific name spelled Malacias melanoleucus.

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest between 1000m and 2565m.¹

Behaviour

Diet

Feeds on insects, grubs, berries and also nectar. Arboreal, usually in the treetops.
Mostly seen in pairs or small groups.

Breeding

Breeding season from February to June. The nest is a cup made of moss, pine needles, grasses and leaves. It's placed on small outer branches of a tree, 2.5 to 7.5 m above the ground. Lays 1 - 3 eggs.
Resident species.¹

References

1. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
2. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-backed Sibia. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-backed_Sibia

External Links

Search the Gallery using the scientific name:

Search for photos of Black-backed Sibia in the gallery

Search the Gallery Using the common name Dark-backed Sibia:

Search for photos of Black-backed Sibia in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.