The Nilgiri blue robin (Sholicola major), also known as Nilgiri shortwing, white-bellied shortwing, Nilgiri sholakili or rufous-bellied shortwing is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidaeendemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India, mainly north of the Palghat Gap. This small bird is found on the forest floor and undergrowth of dense forest patches sheltered in the valleys of montane grassland, a restricted and threatened habitat.
Phaenicura major Phoenicura major Brachypteryx major Callene rufiventris Myiomela major
The white-bellied blue robin was formerly considered conspecific with this species but in 2005 the two taxa were split by Pamela C. Rasmussen, a treatment that is followed by some authorities. Their genus remained uncertain until a 2017 molecular phylogenetic study found that these two south Indian species formed a sister group to a clade containing the genera Eumyias, Niltava and Cyornis. A new genus Sholicola was therefore erected for these two species.
This chat-like bird is long-legged and appears chunky with its short tail and wing. Although sharing similar habits and shape, the two species differ in plumage and both may show slight sexual dimorphism. Females may differ from males in iris colour at least in S. albiventris.[2][3]
The Nilgiri blue robin (S. major) has the lores black and the upperside, the throat, breast are dark slaty blue but the lower plumage is rufous. The centre of the belly is buffy white. The brow is not as well-marked as in the other species and is diffuse bluish.[4]
Taxonomy and systematicsedit
Thomas C. Jerdon obtained a specimen of the rufous-bellied species from the Nilgiris and called it Phaenicura major ("Large Red-start") in 1844[5] but Edward Blyth suggested that the species should be placed in the genus Callene that he had separated from the already extant Brachypteryx, a genus in which he also placed the blue-fronted robin (now Cinclidium frontale then Callene frontalis). Jerdon then suggested the new name of Callene rufiventris, a name not used due to the priority given to the names first proposed.[6]Eugene Oates in the first edition of The Fauna of British India moved the species back into the genus Brachypteryx stating that they were congeneric with Brachypteryx cruralis while also noting that the young birds were speckled as in true-thrushes like Callene (as represented by the blue-fronted robin). Oates also used the name "Rufous-bellied Short-wing".[4] This genus placement was carried on in the second edition of The Fauna of British India (1924) by E. C. Stuart Baker[7] but was demoted into a subspecies on the basis of a specimen collected by T. F. Bourdillon at Mynal which was claimed to be intermediate to the two forms. Claud Buchanan Ticehurst in 1939 reaffirmed the genus placement.[8] This treatment as subspecies was carried forward by Salim Ali and Sidney Dillon Ripley in their "Handbook"[9][10] until the old two species were restored by P C Rasmussen in 2005.[11] In the Birds of South Asia (2005), however they moved the species tentatively into the genus Myiomela based on morphological similarities and pointed out that the placement in Brachypteryx was in error (as Brachypteryx is strongly sexually dimorphic).[2]
Plumage of Sholicola major underside showing the rufous flanks and white belly
In 2010, DNA sequence studies suggested an ancient divergence in these two populations and confirmed their elevation to full species.[12] The genus position was however not settled. Another 2010 molecular phylogenetics study suggested that the genus Brachypteryx (the taxa sampled however, did not include the peninsular Indian forms) which was earlier thought to belong to the thrush family Turdidae belonged to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.[13] The type species of Brachypteryx, B. montana, shows strong sexual dimorphism.[14] A 2017 study found that the species from southern India formed a group that is a sister to the clade (treated as subfamily Niltavinae[15]) of flycatchers in the genera Eumyias, Cyanoptila, Niltava, Cyornis and Anthipes and the new genus of Sholicola was erected for them.[16][17]
Habitat and distributionedit
Its natural habitat is forest patches in the valleys of high altitude grasslands known as sholas. The species has been found to occur only above 1200 m altitude in the higher hill ranges of Western Ghats. These forest patches are highly restricted in size and the species is thus threatened by habitat loss.[18]
Populations of S. major are found in the Nilgiris, the Bababudan hills and the Brahmagiris.[19][20]
Behaviour and ecologyedit
These birds are found in dense forest in the dark lower canopy and forest floor. They are skulking but can be confiding. They call frequently with tit-like notes and harsh rattles. The song of S. major is said to be series of shrill whistles and twangy buzzing sounds.[21] Geographically isolated populations show variations in their songs.[22] Birds have been noted to moult their tail feathers in the beginning of June. Little is known of their dispersal, longevity and other aspects of life history although more than 133 birds have been ringed.[2][23]
Two greyish green and brown-marked eggs are laid during the breeding season that varies from April to June, after the rains. The nest is placed in a tree hole or placed on a bank and is made of moss and fibrous roots and placed low over the ground.[10][24] The incubation period is about 16 to 17 days.[25] Both parents share the nesting duties like incubation and feeding the nestlings. Old nests from the previous year may sometimes be reused.[26]
Referencesedit
^BirdLife International (2016). "Sholicola major". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22735416A95110419. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22735416A95110419.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ abcRasmussen, Pamela C. & John C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. p. 400.
^Sharpe, R. Bowdler (1883). Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. Volume 7. British Museum, London. pp. 14–17.
^ abOates, EW (1889). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 184–186.
^Jerdon TC (1844). "Supplement to the catalogue of birds of the peninsula of India". Madras Journal of Literature and Science. 13: 156–174.
^Jerdon, TC (1862). The Birds of India. Volume 1. The Military Orphan Press, Calcutta. p. 496.
^Baker, ECS (1921). "The birds of the Indian Empire: Hand-list of the "Birds of India", Part 3". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 27 (4).
^Ticehurst CB (1939). "Systematic Notes on Indian Birds.–II". Ibis. 81 (2): 348–351. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1939.tb03983.x.
^Baker, ECS (1924). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Volume 2 (2nd ed.). Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 9–11.
^ abAli, S & SD Ripley (1997). Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 8 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 209–210.
^Rasmussen, P.C. (2005). "Biogeographic and conservation implications of revised species limits and distributions of South Asian birds". Zool. Med. Leiden. 79 (13): 137–146.
^Robin VV, Sinha A, Ramakrishnan U (2010). "Ancient Geographical Gaps and Paleo-Climate Shape the Phylogeography of an Endemic Bird in the Sky Islands of Southern India". PLOS ONE. 5 (10): e13321. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...513321R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013321. PMC2954160. PMID 20967202.
^Sangster, George; Per Alström; Emma Forsmark & Urban Olsson (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (1): 380–392. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008. PMID 20656044.
^Horsfield, Thomas (1824). Zoological researches in Java, and the neighbouring islands. Printed by Kingsbury, Parbury, & Allen, London. ISBN0-19-588982-7.
^Sangster, George; Alström, PER; Forsmark, Emma; Olsson, Urban (2016). "Niltavinae, a new taxon of Old World flycatchers (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Zootaxa. 4196 (3): 428. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4196.3.7. PMID 27988667.
^Robin, V.V.; Vishnudas, C. K.; Gupta, Pooja; Rheindt, Frank E.; Hooper, Daniel M.; Ramakrishnan, Uma; Reddy, Sushma (2017). "Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic radiations from the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats, India". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (1): 31. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0882-6. PMC5259981. PMID 28114902.
^Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". World Bird List Version 7.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
^Robin, VV & Sukumar, R (2002). "Status and habitat preference of White-bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Western Ghats (Kerala and Tamilnadu), India". Bird Conservation International. 12 (4): 335–351. doi:10.1017/s0959270902002216. S2CID 795223.
^Collar NJ; A.V. Andreev; S. Chan; M.J. Crosby; S. Subramanya; J.A. Tobias (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia(PDF). BirdLife International. pp. 2019–2022.
^Davison, W (1888). "[Letters to the editor]". Ibis. 30 (1): 124–128. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1888.tb07729.x.
^Terry, Horace (?) (1887). "A few additional notes on birds on the Pulney Hills". Stray Feathers. 10 (6): 467–480.
^Robin VV, Katti M, Purshotham C, Sancheti A, Sinha A (2011). "Singing in the sky: song variation in an endemic bird on the sky islands of southern India". Animal Behaviour. 82 (3): 513–520. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.05.032. S2CID 53144163.
^Balachandran, S (1999). "Moult in some birds of Palni Hills, Western Ghats". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 96 (1): 48–54.
^Hume, AO (1889). The nests and eggs of Indian birds. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). R H Porter, London. pp. 128–129.
^Robin VV (2005). "A note on the breeding of the White-bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major from the Western Ghats, south India". Indian Birds. 1 (6): 145–146.
^Senthilmurugan B., Ashfaq Ahmed Zarri & AR Rahmani (2005). "Nest re-use in White-bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Nilgiri hills, India" (PDF). Indian Birds. 1 (1): 2–3.[permanent dead link]
External linksedit
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Videos and call recordings
December 15, 2023
nilgiri, blue, robin, sholicola, major, also, known, nilgiri, shortwing, white, bellied, shortwing, nilgiri, sholakili, rufous, bellied, shortwing, species, passerine, bird, family, muscicapidae, endemic, shola, forests, higher, hills, southern, india, mainly,. The Nilgiri blue robin Sholicola major also known as Nilgiri shortwing white bellied shortwing Nilgiri sholakili or rufous bellied shortwing is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae endemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India mainly north of the Palghat Gap This small bird is found on the forest floor and undergrowth of dense forest patches sheltered in the valleys of montane grassland a restricted and threatened habitat Nilgiri blue robinConservation statusEndangered IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily MuscicapidaeGenus SholicolaSpecies S majorBinomial nameSholicola major Jerdon 1841 SynonymsPhaenicura majorPhoenicura majorBrachypteryx majorCallene rufiventrisMyiomela majorThe white bellied blue robin was formerly considered conspecific with this species but in 2005 the two taxa were split by Pamela C Rasmussen a treatment that is followed by some authorities Their genus remained uncertain until a 2017 molecular phylogenetic study found that these two south Indian species formed a sister group to a clade containing the genera Eumyias Niltava and Cyornis A new genus Sholicola was therefore erected for these two species Contents 1 Description 2 Taxonomy and systematics 3 Habitat and distribution 4 Behaviour and ecology 5 References 6 External linksDescription edit nbsp Nilgiri blue robin at CoonoorThis chat like bird is long legged and appears chunky with its short tail and wing Although sharing similar habits and shape the two species differ in plumage and both may show slight sexual dimorphism Females may differ from males in iris colour at least in S albiventris 2 3 The Nilgiri blue robin S major has the lores black and the upperside the throat breast are dark slaty blue but the lower plumage is rufous The centre of the belly is buffy white The brow is not as well marked as in the other species and is diffuse bluish 4 Taxonomy and systematics editThomas C Jerdon obtained a specimen of the rufous bellied species from the Nilgiris and called it Phaenicura major Large Red start in 1844 5 but Edward Blyth suggested that the species should be placed in the genus Callene that he had separated from the already extant Brachypteryx a genus in which he also placed the blue fronted robin now Cinclidium frontale then Callene frontalis Jerdon then suggested the new name of Callene rufiventris a name not used due to the priority given to the names first proposed 6 Eugene Oates in the first edition of The Fauna of British India moved the species back into the genus Brachypteryx stating that they were congeneric with Brachypteryx cruralis while also noting that the young birds were speckled as in true thrushes like Callene as represented by the blue fronted robin Oates also used the name Rufous bellied Short wing 4 This genus placement was carried on in the second edition of The Fauna of British India 1924 by E C Stuart Baker 7 but was demoted into a subspecies on the basis of a specimen collected by T F Bourdillon at Mynal which was claimed to be intermediate to the two forms Claud Buchanan Ticehurst in 1939 reaffirmed the genus placement 8 This treatment as subspecies was carried forward by Salim Ali and Sidney Dillon Ripley in their Handbook 9 10 until the old two species were restored by P C Rasmussen in 2005 11 In the Birds of South Asia 2005 however they moved the species tentatively into the genus Myiomela based on morphological similarities and pointed out that the placement in Brachypteryx was in error as Brachypteryx is strongly sexually dimorphic 2 nbsp Plumage of Sholicola major underside showing the rufous flanks and white bellyIn 2010 DNA sequence studies suggested an ancient divergence in these two populations and confirmed their elevation to full species 12 The genus position was however not settled Another 2010 molecular phylogenetics study suggested that the genus Brachypteryx the taxa sampled however did not include the peninsular Indian forms which was earlier thought to belong to the thrush family Turdidae belonged to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae 13 The type species of Brachypteryx B montana shows strong sexual dimorphism 14 A 2017 study found that the species from southern India formed a group that is a sister to the clade treated as subfamily Niltavinae 15 of flycatchers in the genera Eumyias Cyanoptila Niltava Cyornis and Anthipes and the new genus of Sholicola was erected for them 16 17 Habitat and distribution editIts natural habitat is forest patches in the valleys of high altitude grasslands known as sholas The species has been found to occur only above 1200 m altitude in the higher hill ranges of Western Ghats These forest patches are highly restricted in size and the species is thus threatened by habitat loss 18 Populations of S major are found in the Nilgiris the Bababudan hills and the Brahmagiris 19 20 Behaviour and ecology editThese birds are found in dense forest in the dark lower canopy and forest floor They are skulking but can be confiding They call frequently with tit like notes and harsh rattles The song of S major is said to be series of shrill whistles and twangy buzzing sounds 21 Geographically isolated populations show variations in their songs 22 Birds have been noted to moult their tail feathers in the beginning of June Little is known of their dispersal longevity and other aspects of life history although more than 133 birds have been ringed 2 23 Two greyish green and brown marked eggs are laid during the breeding season that varies from April to June after the rains The nest is placed in a tree hole or placed on a bank and is made of moss and fibrous roots and placed low over the ground 10 24 The incubation period is about 16 to 17 days 25 Both parents share the nesting duties like incubation and feeding the nestlings Old nests from the previous year may sometimes be reused 26 References edit BirdLife International 2016 Sholicola major IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22735416A95110419 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22735416A95110419 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 a b c Rasmussen Pamela C amp John C Anderton 2005 Birds of South Asia The Ripley Guide Volume 2 Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions p 400 Sharpe R Bowdler 1883 Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum Volume 7 British Museum London pp 14 17 a b Oates EW 1889 The Fauna of British India Including Ceylon and Burma Birds Volume 1 Taylor and Francis London pp 184 186 Jerdon TC 1844 Supplement to the catalogue of birds of the peninsula of India Madras Journal of Literature and Science 13 156 174 Jerdon TC 1862 The Birds of India Volume 1 The Military Orphan Press Calcutta p 496 Baker ECS 1921 The birds of the Indian Empire Hand list of the Birds of India Part 3 J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 27 4 Ticehurst CB 1939 Systematic Notes on Indian Birds II Ibis 81 2 348 351 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1939 tb03983 x Baker ECS 1924 The Fauna of British India Including Ceylon and Burma Volume 2 2nd ed Taylor and Francis London pp 9 11 a b Ali S amp SD Ripley 1997 Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan Volume 8 2nd ed Oxford University Press pp 209 210 Rasmussen P C 2005 Biogeographic and conservation implications of revised species limits and distributions of South Asian birds Zool Med Leiden 79 13 137 146 Robin VV Sinha A Ramakrishnan U 2010 Ancient Geographical Gaps and Paleo Climate Shape the Phylogeography of an Endemic Bird in the Sky Islands of Southern India PLOS ONE 5 10 e13321 Bibcode 2010PLoSO 513321R doi 10 1371 journal pone 0013321 PMC 2954160 PMID 20967202 Sangster George Per Alstrom Emma Forsmark amp Urban Olsson 2010 Multi locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family subfamily and genus level Aves Muscicapidae PDF Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57 1 380 392 doi 10 1016 j ympev 2010 07 008 PMID 20656044 Horsfield Thomas 1824 Zoological researches in Java and the neighbouring islands Printed by Kingsbury Parbury amp Allen London ISBN 0 19 588982 7 Sangster George Alstrom PER Forsmark Emma Olsson Urban 2016 Niltavinae a new taxon of Old World flycatchers Aves Muscicapidae Zootaxa 4196 3 428 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 4196 3 7 PMID 27988667 Robin V V Vishnudas C K Gupta Pooja Rheindt Frank E Hooper Daniel M Ramakrishnan Uma Reddy Sushma 2017 Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic radiations from the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats India BMC Evolutionary Biology 17 1 31 doi 10 1186 s12862 017 0882 6 PMC 5259981 PMID 28114902 Gill Frank Donsker David eds Chats Old World flycatchers World Bird List Version 7 2 International Ornithologists Union Retrieved 10 May 2017 Robin VV amp Sukumar R 2002 Status and habitat preference of White bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Western Ghats Kerala and Tamilnadu India Bird Conservation International 12 4 335 351 doi 10 1017 s0959270902002216 S2CID 795223 Collar NJ A V Andreev S Chan M J Crosby S Subramanya J A Tobias 2001 Threatened Birds of Asia PDF BirdLife International pp 2019 2022 Davison W 1888 Letters to the editor Ibis 30 1 124 128 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1888 tb07729 x Terry Horace 1887 A few additional notes on birds on the Pulney Hills Stray Feathers 10 6 467 480 Robin VV Katti M Purshotham C Sancheti A Sinha A 2011 Singing in the sky song variation in an endemic bird on the sky islands of southern India Animal Behaviour 82 3 513 520 doi 10 1016 j anbehav 2011 05 032 S2CID 53144163 Balachandran S 1999 Moult in some birds of Palni Hills Western Ghats J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 96 1 48 54 Hume AO 1889 The nests and eggs of Indian birds Volume 1 2nd ed R H Porter London pp 128 129 Robin VV 2005 A note on the breeding of the White bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major from the Western Ghats south India Indian Birds 1 6 145 146 Senthilmurugan B Ashfaq Ahmed Zarri amp AR Rahmani 2005 Nest re use in White bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Nilgiri hills India PDF Indian Birds 1 1 2 3 permanent dead link External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sholicola major Photographs Videos and call recordings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nilgiri blue robin amp oldid 1125516424, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
