Oriental Magpie-robin

The Oriental Magpie-robin is the national bird of Bangladesh.

The tail of the Oriental magpie-robin is held upright when hopping but is then held lower when they sing. The tail is long, The male has black uppertail coverts, the head and throat are separate because of a white shoulder patch.

The undertail coverts and the edge of the tail are white. The female of the specie is greyish black above and greyish white. The juveniles undertail coverts, uppertail coverts and head are scaly brown.

The nominate subspecie is from the Indian subcontinent in which the females are the palest compared to the other subspecies. The subspecies Copsychus saularis andamanensis from the Andaman islands has females which are darker, heavier-billed and shorter-tailed.

The names in other regional languages in India are Dhyal, Dhayal, Doyel, Doel and Saulary.

They belong to the Kingdom Animalia, The Phylum is Chordata, The Class is Aves, The Order is Passeriformes, The Family is Muscicapidae, The Genus is Copsychus, The Binomial name is Copsychus saularis.

The Oriental magpie-robin is 19 centimeters in length with the tail, they weigh about 36 grams.

Sounds - They have multiple calls like territorial calls, emergence calls, roosting calls, threat calls, submissive calls, begging calls and distress calls. The mobbing call sounds like harsh hissing krshhh.

Diet - The Oriental magpie-robin eats mainly insects and invertebrates, they also eat flower nectar, geckos, leeches, centipedes and fish. Hence they are Carnivores (Insectivores).

Habitat - The Oriental magpie-robin is a resident breeder to India. It is also found in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and eastern Pakistan, eastern Indonesia, Thailand, south China, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The Oriental magpie-robin lives in open woodland, mangrove, cultivated areas and human habitations.

They are observed near the ground, It is found foraging in leaf-litter with a upright tail, they hop around branches. Males sing loudly from the top of trees or other elevations in the breeding season.

Breeding & Nesting - Oriental magpie-robins breed from March to July. The male Oriental magpie-robin sings from high perches for courtship, the courtship of the male is puffing up the feathers, raising the bill, fanning the tail and strutting.
The nest is in tree hollows or certain holes in walls, They line the tree hollows with grass.

The female Oriental magpie-robin does most of the work of the nest which occurs a week before the eggs. 4 to 5 eggs are laid with each every 24 hours, they are oval and pale blue green with brownish speckles. The female Oriental magpie-robin incubates The eggs alone for 8 to 14 days. The nests might have a characteristic odor.

The female Oriental magpie-robin feeds the young more than the male Oriental magpie-robin. The male Oriental magpie-robins are aggressive in the breeding season and defend territory, they respond to the singing of intruders and their own reflections. The male Oriental magpie-robin vigorously defends the nest. They have different dialects in their songs with every individual having slight differences in their song. Their song can include other species sounds, this can mean that Oriental magpie-robins don't use old territory. The female Oriental magpie-robin can sing briefly near a male.

The Oriental magpie-robin is active at dusk. The Oriental magpie-robin bathes in rainwater on the leaves of a tree.

Threats, Predators & Conservation Status - The Oriental magpie-robin has avian predators. They have the risk of being affected by Pathogens, Parasitic nematodes of the eye and parasites like Avian malaria parasites, H4N3 and H5N1 infections.

They live 10 to 15 years. And are listed as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List.