Alternative names: Black-eared Cuckooshrike; Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
- Coracina larvata
Identification
26-27 cm.
- Dark slaty-grey upperparts
- Dusky lower forehead and lores, slaty-black ear-coverts and feathers around eye
- Black primary coverts and primaries, secondaries with broad grey edges
- Black tail, rectrices pale grey tipped
- Dark grey throat merging into slaty grey rest of underparts, darker thighs
- Black bill and legs
- melanocephala has an entirely black head, normani has intermediate extent of black on head
Females have a smaller black mask, grey and white barred underwing-coverts and sometimes some barring on undertail-coverts.
Juveniles are similar to females but have some whitish feather edges.
Similar species
Differs from Wallacean Cuckooshrike by grey (not white) underwing-coverts and a smaller and narrower bill.
Distribution
Highlands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.
Common in suitable habitat in Sumatra and Borneo, very local in Java.
Taxonomy
Three subspecies recognized:
Has been considered conspecific with Halmahera Cuckooshrike.
Habitat
Found in humid montanes, including pine forest and mossy forest.
Occurs in highlands at 850 to 2200 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects, takes also fruit.
Forages in treetops singly or in pairs, sometimes in mixed-species flocks.
Breeding
No information.
Movements
No movements recorded, presumably a sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sunda Cuckooshrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sunda_Cuckooshrike
