Indian robin explained

The Indian robin (Copsychus fulicatus)[1] is a species of passarine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is widespread in the Indian subcontinent and ranges across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The males of the northern subspecies have brown backs whose extent gradually reduces southwards, with the males of the southern subspecies having all-black backs. They are commonly found in open scrub areas and often seen running along the ground or perching on low thorny shrubs and rocks. The long tail is usually held up and the chestnut undertail coverts and dark body make them easily distinguishable from pied bushchats and Oriental magpie-robins.

Taxonomy

In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Indian robin in his Ornithologie based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected in the Philippines. He used the French name Le grand traquet des Philippines and the Latin Rubetra Philippensis Major.[2] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.[3] When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the 12th edition in 1766, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.[3] One of these was the Indian robin. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Motacilla fulicata and cited Brisson's work.[4] The type location was subsequently corrected to Puducherry in southern India.[5] The specific name is from the Latin fulicatus for "dusky" or "black".[6] The Indian robin was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Saxicoloides. It was moved to Copsychus based on the results of molecular phylogenetic studies of birds in the family Muscicapidae.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Description

The Indian robin is sexually dimorphic in plumage, with the male being mainly black with a white shoulder patch or stripe whose visible extent can vary with posture. The northern populations have the upper plumage brownish, while the southern populations are black above. The males have chestnut undertail coverts and these are visible as the bird usually holds the 6–8 cm long tail raised upright. The females are brownish above, have no white shoulder stripe and are greyish below, with the vent a paler shade of chestnut than the males. Birds of the northern populations are larger than those from southern India or Sri Lanka. Juvenile birds are much like females, but the throat is mottled.

Several subspecies are named based on their plumage differences. The nominate subspecies refers to the population found across southern peninsular India. The subspecies leucopterus is found in Sri Lanka. In the two subspecies cambaiensis of northern and north-western India and erythrura (=erythrurus) of north-eastern India (south to around Sambalpur),[11] the males have brown backs. The subspecies intermedius includes birds in appearance between cambaiensis, erythrura and fulicata, the last one found in central India and parts of the Deccan region. The subspecies munda was named based on a specimen from the Punjab, but it is now considered synonymous with cambaiensis.[12] Older classifications treat the population in southern India as the subspecies ptymatura while considering the type locality as Sri Lanka,[13] although it has subsequently been restricted to Pondicherry.[14]

Local names recorded by Jerdon include Nalanchi (Telugu), Wannatikuruvi (Tamil, Washerman bird), Dayaal (Marathi) Kalchuri (Hindi) and Paan kiriththaa (Sinhala).[15] The former genus name indicates that it looks similar to Saxicola, the genus of the pied bushchat, a bird often found in similar habitats.

Distribution and habitat

This bird is found in open stony, grassy and scrub forest habitats. They are mainly found in dry habitats and are mostly absent from the thicker forest regions and high rainfall areas. All populations are resident and non-migratory. The species is often found close to human habitation and will frequently perch on rooftops.[16] [13]

The species was introduced into the New York region, but did not become established there.[17] [18] A vagrant or escape has been noted from the Maldives.[16]

Ecology

Population densities of 193-240 individuals per square km have been estimated in the Pondicherry University campus. The ratio of males to females was about 1.5:1. Territory size for males is estimated at about 6650 m2.[19] Males can be aggressive to others during the breeding season and will even attack reflections.[20] Human activities such as felling and firewood removal in forests appear to benefit them.[21]

Food

They feed mostly on insects but are known to take frogs and lizards especially when feeding young at the nest.[22] Individuals may forage late in the evening to capture insects attracted to lights.[23]

Breeding

The breeding season is December to September, but varies according to region and usually begins with the first rains. Peak breeding in northern India is in June and is earlier in Southern India. In Sri Lanka, breeding is in March to June and August to September. Males sing during this season and display by lowering and spreading their tail feathers and strutting around the female, displaying their sides and fluffing their undertail coverts.[24] The songs of males have variants for inviting mates and for deterring other males.[25] Males will drive away other males and patrol their territory by flying with slow wing beats from perch to perch. They may sometimes peck at their reflections.[26] An aggressive display involves fluffing up the feathers and holding the bill high.

Nests are built between rocks, in holes in walls or in a tree hollow[27] and are lined with animal hair. It has been noted that many of them are also lined with pieces of snakeskin sloughs.[28] [29] The eggs are of regular oval form, but many are elongated and a few pointed. They have a fair amount of gloss. The ground colour is white, often tinged with faint green or pink which is rather closely spotted, speckled, streaked, or mottled with rich reddish- or umber-brown and brownish-yellow with some underlying lavender. The markings are denser at the larger end of the egg, where they form an irregular cap. Some eggs are blotched with dark reddish-brown at the large end. They are about 0.76inches-0.84inchesin (-in) long and 0.55inches-0.62inchesin (-in) wide.[30] Three to four eggs is the usual clutch.[31] An abnormal clutch of seven has been noted, although none of the eggs hatched at this nest.[32] Only the female incubates the eggs,[33] which then hatch in about 10–12 days.[34] The chicks have black down.[35] Both males and females feed the young, the male sometimes passing food to the female who, in turn, feeds the young.[36] Nestlings may feign dead (thanatosis) when handled and may be preyed on by the rufous treepie.[37] The same nest site may be reused in subsequent years.[38]

An old anecdotal record of these birds laying their eggs in the nests of Turdoides babblers has not been supported by later observers.[39] Laboratory studies have demonstrated cyclic changes in the melanin pigmentation of the tissue surrounding the testes. The dark pigmentation is lost during the breeding season and regained later.[40]

Parasites

Several parasites, including a cestode, have been identified in this species.[41] [42]

Other sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Rasmussen & Anderton emend the species epithet from fulicata to fulicatus since Saxicola is masculine and the -oides ending is always masculine according to ICZN Code 30.1.4.4. ICZN Code . See also David. Normand. Gosselin. Michel . 2002. The grammatical gender of avian genera. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . 122. 4. 257–282.
  2. Book: Brisson, Mathurin Jacques . Mathurin Jacques Brisson . 1760 . Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés . 3 . fr, la . Paris . Jean-Baptiste Bauche . 444–446, Plate 23 fig 2 . The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.
  3. Allen . J.A. . Joel Asaph Allen . 1910 . Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 28 . 317–335 . 2246/678 .
  4. Book: Linnaeus, Carl . Carl Linnaeus . 1766 . Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis . 12th . 1, Part 1 . Laurentii Salvii . Holmiae (Stockholm) . la . 336 .
  5. Book: Mayr . Ernst . Ernst Mayr . Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1964 . Check-list of Birds of the World . 10 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 133–134 .
  6. Web site: Jobling . J.A. . 2018 . Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology . del Hoyo . J. . Elliott . A. . Sargatal . J. . Christie . D.A. . de Juana . E. . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions . 10 May 2018 .
  7. Sangster . G. . Alström . P. . Forsmark . E. . Olsson . U. . 2010 . Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 57 . 1 . 380–392 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008 . 20656044. 2010MolPE..57..380S .
  8. Zuccon . D. . Ericson . P.G.P. . 2010 . A multi-gene phylogeny disentangles the chat-flycatcher complex (Aves: Muscicapidae) . Zoologica Scripta . 39 . 3 . 213–224 . 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00423.x . 85963319 .
  9. Web site: Gill . Frank . Donsker . David . Chats, Old World flycatchers . World Bird List Version 6.2 . International Ornithologists' Union. 20 May 2016 .
  10. Voelker. Gary. Peñalba. Joshua V.. Huntley. Jerry W.. Bowie. Rauri C. K.. 2014-04-01. Diversification in an Afro-Asian songbird clade (Erythropygia–Copsychus) reveals founder-event speciation via trans-oceanic dispersals and a southern to northern colonization pattern in Africa. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 73. 97–105. 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.01.024. 24508703. 2014MolPE..73...97V .
  11. Majumdar, N . 1980. Occurrence of the Bengal Black Robin, Saxicoloides fulicata erythrura (Lesson) [Muscicapidae: Turdinae], and the Assam Purple Sunbird, Nectarinia asiatica intermedia (Hume) [Nectariniidae] in Orissa State]. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. . 77. 2. 334.
  12. Van Tyne, J. . W. Koelz. 1936. Seven new birds from the Punjab. Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan. 334. 5.
  13. Book: Popular Handbook of Indian Birds. 3rd. Hugh Whistler. 1941. Gurney and Jackson. 104–106.
  14. Ripley, SD. The Thrushes. 1952. Postilla. 13. 1–48. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100627030143/http://www.peabody.yale.edu/scipubs/bulletins_postillas/ypmP013_1952.pdf. 2010-06-27.
  15. Book: The Birds of India. Volume 2 (part 1). Jerdon, T. C.. 1863. Military Orphan Press, Calcutta. 121.
  16. Book: 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. 396. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. Rasmussen PC . Anderton, JC .
  17. Web site: Notices - Federal Register - March 15, 2005 Vol. 70, No. 49. USFWS. US Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005-03-15. 2008-09-30. 2015-09-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924050025/http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/issues/nonnative/Final%20NonNative%20Species%20List.pdf. dead.
  18. Book: Bull, J.. 1974. Birds of New York state. American Museum of Natural History, New York.
  19. Book: Rajasekhar, B. 1993. Use of line transects to estimate Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata) population at Pondicherry University Campus. Bird Conservation: Strategies for the Nineties and Beyond. Verghese, A. Sridhar, S. Chakravarthy, AK. Ornithological Society of India, Bangalore. 191. https://archive.org/stream/BirdConservationStrategies/BirdConservationIndia#page/n217/mode/1up. .
  20. Wikramanayake, EB. 1952. Blackbacked Robin attacking car. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 50. 3. 656.
  21. Conservation and Society. 562–591. 4. 4. 2006. Consequences of Rural Biomass Extraction for Bird Communities in an Indian Tropical Dry Forest and the Role of Vegetation Structure. Kumar, Raman. Shahabuddin, Ghazala. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070821082742/http://www.conservationandsociety.org/cs_4_4_4-562.pdf. 2007-08-21.
  22. Sivasubramanian, C. 1991. Frog and lizard in the dietary of the Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata (Linn.). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 88. 3. 458.
  23. Bharos, A. M. K.. 1997. Indian Robin Saxicola fulicata foraging in the light of fluorescent lamps. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 94. 571.
  24. Thyagaraju, A. S.. 1955. The courtship (?) display of the Blackbacked Indian Robin [''Saxicoloides fulicata'' (Linn.)]]. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. . 53. 1. 129–130.
  25. Breeding biology of Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata in northern India. Kumar, A. 2012. J. Exp. Zool. India. 15. 1. 57–61.
  26. Wikramanayake, E.B.. 1952. Blackbacked robin [''Saxicoloides f. fulicata'' (Linn.)] attacking car]. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 50. 3. 656.
  27. 1996. Peculiar nesting site and some observations on the breeding behaviour of Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata Linn. . 36. 1. 3–5. Shanbhag, AB. Gramopadhye, A.
  28. The Auk. 43. 4. 1926. On the use, by birds, of snakes' sloughs as nesting material. Strecker, John K. 501–507. 10.2307/4075138. 4075138.
  29. Notes on various Indian birds. Beavan, RC. Robert Cecil Beavan. Ibis. 3 . 430–455. 1867. 12. 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1867.tb06443.x.
  30. Book: Oates, E W. 1905 . Catalogue of the collection of birds' eggs in the British Museum . 4. 151–153 .
  31. Book: Oates, E. W. 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 2. 1889–98. Taylor and Francis London. 115.
  32. Javed. Salim. 1990. Abnormal clutch in Indian Brownbacked Robin Saxicoloides fulicata cambaiensis (Latham). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 89. 2. 258.
  33. Book: Ali, S. 1997. The Book of Indian Birds. 12th. 978-0-19-563731-1. Oxford University Press. 214935260.
  34. Book: Ali, S . S Dillon Ripley. 61–67. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. 9. 2nd. 1998. Oxford University Press.
  35. Betts, F N . 1951. The birds of Coorg. Part 1 . J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. . 50. 1. 20–63.
  36. George, JC . 1961. Parental cooperation in the feeding of nestlings in the Indian Robin. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 58. 1. 267–268.
  37. Begbie, A. 1905. Nest of the Brown-backed Indian Robin Thamnobia cambaiensis. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 16. 3. 513.
  38. Naik, RM . 1963. On the nesting habits of the Indian Robin, Saxicoloides fulicata (Linnaeus). . 3. 9. 7.
  39. Field, F. 1902. Robin laying in babbler's nest. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.. 14. 3. 610–611.
  40. Poult. Sci.. 1983. 62. 2. 385–388. Instance of melanosis in the gonads of male Indian Robin, Saxicoloides fulicata (Lin). Agrawal SC, Bansal G . 6835913. 10.3382/ps.0620385. free.
  41. A new avian cestode from Saxicoloides fulicata at Aurangabad (M.S.) India. Shinde GB, Gharge MD, Gavhane AB, Jadhav BV . Rivista di Parassitologia. 1990. 51. 3. 255–257.
  42. Haemaphysalis kutchensis sp. n., a Common Larval and Nymphal Parasite of Birds in Northwestern India (Ixodoidea, Ixodidae). Harry Hoogstraal . Harold Trapido . The Journal of Parasitology. 49. 3. 1 June 1963. 489–497. 10.2307/3275824. 0022-3395. 3275824.

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