- Chloropsis cochinchinensis
Identification
Male - green-bodied, yellow head, black face and throat, blue moustachial line, wing patch and tail sides.
Female - green head, blue throat.
Young - like female but without the blue throat patch.
They were earlier classified along with the bulbuls, but unlike the bulbuls, the sexes differ.
Similar Species
Three types of similar looking leafbirds occur in Thailand, Peninsula Malaysia and Singapore - Blue-winged, Greater Green and Lesser Green Leafbirds - making them difficult to identify in the field. Greater Green and Lesser Green can be distinguished from the Blue-winged Leafbird by the lack of bluish wing patch and tail sides. Male Greater Green can distinguished from the male Lesser Green Leafbird by bigger size and stronger bill. Besides size and bill differences, female Greater Green Leafbird has yellow eye-ring and throat patch which is lacking in female Lesser Green Leafbird.
Distribution
The Blue-winged Leafbird is a common resident breeder in southern southeast Asia and Indonesia.
Taxonomy
Bornean Leafbird and Jerdon's Leafbird have been considered subspecies of this species.
Subspecies
There are 9 subspecies, from China to Indochina and Indonesia[1]:
- C. c. kinneari:
- C. c. auropectus:
- South-eastern Thailand and southern Indochina
- C. c. serithai:
- Peninsular Thailand south to Isthmus of Kra
- C. c. moluccensis:
- Southern Thailand and Malay Peninsula
- C. c. icterocephala:
- C. c. natunensis:
- Natuna Islands (China Sea)
- C. c. viridinucha:
- C. c. billitonis:
- Belitung Island (off Borneo)
- C. c. cochinchinensis:
Subspecies nigricollis is not recognised by all authorities[2].
Habitat
Its habitat is broad-leaved evergreen forest, forest edges and more open woodland at 1500 meters.
Behaviour
Breeding
It builds its nest in a tree, laying 2-3 eggs. This species eats insects, fruit and nectar.
Vocalisation
Call: consists of a rich mixture of imitations of the calls of various other species of bird.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Blue-winged Leafbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Blue-winged_Leafbird
External Links
