The white-bellied blue robin (Sholicola albiventris) or white-bellied sholakili, is a bird of the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India. The Nilgiri blue robin and this species were once considered separate species, later lumped as sub-species of a single species (major) and elevated again to full species in 2005 by Pamela C. Rasmussen. The species was earlier thought to be related to the shortwings and placed in the genus Brachypteryx and later moved to Myiomela since species in the genus Brachypteryx shows marked sexual dimorphism. In 2017, a study found that this is a sister group of the flycatchers in the genera Niltava, Cyornis and Eumyias among others. It was then placed in newly erected genus Sholicola. 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.
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. Differences in iris colour between the females have been suggested for S. albiventris.[3][4]
The white-bellied blue robin (S. albiventris) has a black face mask with a short whitish brow. The upperside and breast are slaty blue grading to grey on the flanks. The centre of the belly and vent is white.[5] This can appear somewhat like the male of the syntopic white-bellied blue flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes) but can be distinguished by behaviour apart from the longer legs and greyer colouration.[3] Although the plumage is identical between males and females, males are slightly longer winged and have longer tarsi.[6]
In 1867, W T Blanford described a new species Callene albiventris obtained by Rev. S. Fairbank from the Palni Hills. Blanford noted the similarity to the Nilgiri form while also noting the geographical isolation of the two forms and relation to species from northeastern India.[7]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 "White-bellied Short-wing".[5] This genus placement was carried on in the second edition of The Fauna of British India (1924) by E. C. Stuart Baker[8] 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.[9] This treatment as subspecies was carried forward by Salim Ali and Sidney Dillon Ripley in their "Handbook"[10][11] until the old two species were restored by P C Rasmussen in 2005.[12] 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.[3] In 2010, DNA sequence studies suggested an ancient divergence in these two populations and confirmed their elevation to full species.[13] 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.[14] The type species of Brachypteryx, B. montana, shows strong sexual dimorphism.[15] The genus position was however not settled until 2017 and it was found based on a larger sampling that the species from southern India formed a group that is sister to the flycatchers in the genera Eumyias, Cyanoptila, Niltava, Cyornis and Anthipes. This led to the erection of the new genus Sholicola.[16][17]
Habitat and distributionedit
The natural habitat of the white-bellied blue robin 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 southern India. These forest patches are highly restricted in size and the species is thus threatened by habitat loss.[18]
Populations are mainly in the Anaimalai and Cardamom Hills, both south of the Palghat gap. The population in the Ashambu hills has been described as a new species Ashambu blue robin (Sholicola ashambuensis) which differs slightly in coloration and is estimated to have diverged from a common ancestor about 1.24 - 0.49 million years ago.[16]
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. albiventris is said to have a higher pitched and more musical song.[19] 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.[3][20]
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.[11][21]
Referencesedit
^BirdLife International (2018). "Sholicola albiventris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22735423A131860317. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22735423A131860317.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ abcdRasmussen, 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.
^Robin, VV; A Sinha & U Ramakrishnan (2011). "Determining the sex of a monomorphic threatened, endemic passerine in the sky islands of southern India using molecular and morphometric methods" (PDF). Current Science. 101 (5): 676–679.
^Blanford, WT (1867). "On a new species of Callene from the Pulney Hills in Southern India". Proc. Zool. Soc. London: 832–834.
^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.
^ abRobin, 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" (PDF). Bird Conservation International. 12 (4): 335–351. doi:10.1017/s0959270902002216. S2CID 795223.
^Terry, Horace (?) (1887). "A few additional notes on birds on the Pulney Hills". Stray Feathers. 10 (6): 467–480.
^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.
External linksedit
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November 17, 2023
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The white bellied blue robin Sholicola albiventris or white bellied sholakili is a bird of the family Muscicapidae It is endemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India The Nilgiri blue robin and this species were once considered separate species later lumped as sub species of a single species major and elevated again to full species in 2005 by Pamela C Rasmussen The species was earlier thought to be related to the shortwings and placed in the genus Brachypteryx and later moved to Myiomela since species in the genus Brachypteryx shows marked sexual dimorphism In 2017 a study found that this is a sister group of the flycatchers in the genera Niltava Cyornis and Eumyias among others It was then placed in newly erected genus Sholicola 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 White bellied blue robinConservation statusEndangered IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily MuscicapidaeGenus SholicolaSpecies S albiventrisBinomial nameSholicola albiventris Blanford 1868 Synonyms 2 Sholicola major albiventris Contents 1 Description 2 Taxonomy and systematics 3 Habitat and distribution 4 Behaviour and ecology 5 References 6 External linksDescription edit nbsp Illustration by Joseph Smit 1867 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 Differences in iris colour between the females have been suggested for S albiventris 3 4 The white bellied blue robin S albiventris has a black face mask with a short whitish brow The upperside and breast are slaty blue grading to grey on the flanks The centre of the belly and vent is white 5 This can appear somewhat like the male of the syntopic white bellied blue flycatcher Cyornis pallipes but can be distinguished by behaviour apart from the longer legs and greyer colouration 3 Although the plumage is identical between males and females males are slightly longer winged and have longer tarsi 6 Taxonomy and systematics edit nbsp In Pampadum Shola National Park Munnar Kerala IndiaIn 1867 W T Blanford described a new species Callene albiventris obtained by Rev S Fairbank from the Palni Hills Blanford noted the similarity to the Nilgiri form while also noting the geographical isolation of the two forms and relation to species from northeastern India 7 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 White bellied Short wing 5 This genus placement was carried on in the second edition of The Fauna of British India 1924 by E C Stuart Baker 8 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 9 This treatment as subspecies was carried forward by Salim Ali and Sidney Dillon Ripley in their Handbook 10 11 until the old two species were restored by P C Rasmussen in 2005 12 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 3 In 2010 DNA sequence studies suggested an ancient divergence in these two populations and confirmed their elevation to full species 13 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 14 The type species of Brachypteryx B montana shows strong sexual dimorphism 15 The genus position was however not settled until 2017 and it was found based on a larger sampling that the species from southern India formed a group that is sister to the flycatchers in the genera Eumyias Cyanoptila Niltava Cyornis and Anthipes This led to the erection of the new genus Sholicola 16 17 Habitat and distribution editThe natural habitat of the white bellied blue robin 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 southern India These forest patches are highly restricted in size and the species is thus threatened by habitat loss 18 Populations are mainly in the Anaimalai and Cardamom Hills both south of the Palghat gap The population in the Ashambu hills has been described as a new species Ashambu blue robin Sholicola ashambuensis which differs slightly in coloration and is estimated to have diverged from a common ancestor about 1 24 0 49 million years ago 16 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 albiventris is said to have a higher pitched and more musical song 19 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 3 20 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 11 21 References edit BirdLife International 2018 Sholicola albiventris IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018 e T22735423A131860317 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2018 2 RLTS T22735423A131860317 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Myiomela albiventris Avibase a b c d 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 Robin VV A Sinha amp U Ramakrishnan 2011 Determining the sex of a monomorphic threatened endemic passerine in the sky islands of southern India using molecular and morphometric methods PDF Current Science 101 5 676 679 Blanford WT 1867 On a new species of Callene from the Pulney Hills in Southern India Proc Zool Soc London 832 834 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 a b 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 PDF Bird Conservation International 12 4 335 351 doi 10 1017 s0959270902002216 S2CID 795223 Terry Horace 1887 A few additional notes on birds on the Pulney Hills Stray Feathers 10 6 467 480 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 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sholicola albiventris Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title White bellied blue robin amp oldid 1157387213, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
