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Andaman Treepie Dendrocitta bayleii Scientific name definitions

Steve Madge and Christopher J. Sharpe
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 12, 2018

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

32 cm; 92–113 g. Unmistakable small treepie, the smallest of genus, with large white wing patch and pale eyes; long, strongly graduated tail, central pair of feathers little longer than the next, rather short bill less stout than others of genus and with more gently curved culmen. Head and neck are dark bluish-grey, shading into blackish on face and forecrown; upperparts dark tawny-brown, brighter rufous on rump, becoming grey on uppertail-coverts; upperwing black, white patch at bases of primaries and inner secondaries; tail blackish, shading to dark grey over basal half of central feathers; underparts bright rufous, shading into greyish on upper breast and chestnut on undertail-coverts; iris yellow; bill blackish; legs blackish-grey. Sexes similar. Juvenile has sooty reddish-brown hood, darker and redder upperparts (reddish feather margins), greyish-brown fringes of wing-coverts, rather shorter and greyer tail, and olive iris; iris becomes brighter green before turning into yellow of adult.

Systematics History

Original description first used name “bazlei” but publisher’s corrigendum explicitly corrected this to “bayleii”; as all falls within same volume of same journal, the emendation stands (1). Species name sometimes erroneously given as bazlei, bayleyi, baileyi or baileii. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Andaman Is.

Habitat

Dense, humid evergreen forests, where it favours the largest trees.

Movement

Sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

No information on diet; presumably omnivorous. Typically encountered in small parties, with as many as 12–20 in loose company following mixed-species bird waves. Usually works its way through mid-canopy level, especially in company of Andaman Drongos. General behaviour assumed to be much as that of congeners.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Poorly documented. Said to have repeated harsh alarm note, and metallic sound likened to "a coarse file being drawn across the teeth of a saw"; also a fluty whistle "kiu-duu" like that of an Old World oriole (Oriolus), and harsh, rasped "kyow". Some calls similar to those of Andaman Drongo (Dicrurus andamanensis), with which it often associates.

Breeding

Eggs recorded Mar–May. Solitary breeder. Nest a rather flimsy structure of fine twigs and grasses, smaller and neater, more compact, than that of D. formosae, lined with fern rootlets and other soft plant material, well hidden c. 5 m above ground inside dense foliage of small forest tree. Clutch 3 eggs. No further information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife VU Vulnerable

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Andaman Islands EBA. Not uncommon in suitable forest habitat. Transect surveys undertaken in 1993 and 1994 located 36 individuals on a total of nine islands, including main islands of Middle Andaman and South Andaman and smaller Baratang I. Readily encountered in appropriate habitat, with no lack of recent records (2). Global population put at 250–1000 mature individuals BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Dendrocitta bayleii. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/01/2018. . Forest destruction is widespread on the larger, most populated island of South Andaman. Several forest reserves and protected areas have been created on the islands. The future of this forest species depends on enforcement of logging restrictions.

Distribution of the Andaman Treepie - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Andaman Treepie

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Madge, S. and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Andaman Treepie (Dendrocitta bayleii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.andtre1.01
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