White-crowned Shama
Copsychus stricklandii
The White-crowned Shama (Copsychus stricklandii) is a legendary chats, old world flycatchers, and alli found only in Malaysia, weighing about 41 g. The white-crowned shama is a medium sized passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
About the White-crowned Shama
The white-crowned shama is a medium sized passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo. The Maratua shama was formerly treated as a subspecies.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The white-crowned shama is about 21–28 cm (8.3–11.0 in) in length (including a 7 cm (2.8 in) tail in adult males) and 31–42 g (1.1–1.5 oz) in weight. Mainly blue-black upperparts contrast with orange-rufous underparts. It has a white rump and black throat. It is largely similar in appearance to the white-rumped shama subspecies C. m. suavis, which replaces it in southern and western Borneo, and hybridises with it where the ranges meet. It differs in having a white, rather than black, crown. The distinctive Maratua form C. s.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: February, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, with peak activity in September. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a White-crowned Shama?
- The white-crowned shama is about 21–28 cm (8.3–11.0 in) in length (including a 7 cm (2.8 in) tail in adult males) and 31–42 g (1.1–1.5 oz) in weight. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a White-crowned Shama?
- The White-crowned Shama is a small sized bird weighing about 41 g.
- Where can you see a White-crowned Shama?
- The White-crowned Shama is endemic to Malaysia, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a White-crowned Shama?
- The White-crowned Shama is most easily confused with the Black Shama, the Seychelles Magpie-Robin and the White-vented Shama.
Learn the White-crowned Shama for real
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