Black Shama Copsychus cebuensis Scientific name definitions

20 cm. Male is glossy blue-black, with long graduated tail , black bill and legs. Female is similar but blackish-grey. Juvenile undescribed; immature greyer than adult, with brownish wings.

Cebu, in SC Philippines.

Primary forest (almost none remaining) and dense undergrowth of secondary habitats, including scrub, thickets, cut-over forest, plantations, undergrowth, vegetated ravines and bamboo stands; appears to favour areas in valley bottoms, with or without water.

Presumably sedentary.

Small black beetles found in one stomach. Forages on ground and in low vegetation. No other published information, but flycatching reported as common behaviour.

Song a long series of rich, varied whistled phrases, rising and falling, with quick changes of direction, sometimes involving mimicry of other bird species, each phrase lasting up to 20 seconds.

Feb–Sept. Nest a cup often placed in broken end of large bamboo stalk. Eggs 2–3. No other information.

ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Cebu EBA. Population placed in range 1000–2500 mature individuals, but these figures may be too high; considered in decline. Has been considered very rare ever since its discovery, owing to near-total deforestation of Cebu well before start of 20th century. Post-1990 records from at least 15 sites, but most of these hold only small numbers. Largest single known site, at Casili, reportedly holds c. 50 birds in area of c. 10 km²; this area is threatened by local housing development. Another site, Tabunan, containing c. 3 km² of habitat, is situated inside Central Cebu National Park, but is under major threat from squatting families claiming land rights, despite its protected area status and various recent initiatives to preserve it. A third site, Nug-as, is much more promising in terms of long-term prospects for habitat conservation, but local population size still unclear. The species is currently under study at Nug-as by the Cebu Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.