Asian Fairy-bluebird - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by Dr Manjeet Singh
FRIM, Malaysia, March 2011

Irena puella

Identification

Size 25cm
Male: shining blue crown,mantle,rump and undertail coverts contrasting with velvety black head,throat,belly and tail diagnostic.
Female: blue-green plumage with blackish primaries.
Iris is red in both sexes, .

Distribution

Female
Photo by jaray
Kangkrajan National Park, Thailand

India & Myanmar through south east Asia to the Greater Sundas and the Philippines.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Five subspecies are known^[1]:

I. p. puella

India to Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina

I. p. malayensis:

Malaysia

I. p. crinigera:

Sumatra, Borneo and adjacent islands

I. p. turcosa:

Java

I. p.tweeddalei:

Philippines (Palawan, Busuanga, Balabac, Culion and Calamian)

Habitat

Forest and Forest Edges.

Behaviour

Frequents the canopy and middle story.Frequently congregates in fruiting trees and shrubs with other frugivores. Some times hawks after flying insects at the forest edges.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Asian Fairy Bluebird.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Andrew Whitehouse
Bukit Timah, Singapore June 2009

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/

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Asian Fairy-bluebird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Asian_Fairy-bluebird

External Links

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