White-tailed Robin Myiomela leucura Scientific name definitions

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

17–19 cm; 24–30 g. Male nominate race is bluish black, with shiny mid-blue forehead to brow and shoulder patch, very small white neck patch (often concealed), white oval-shaped basal two-thirds of outer tail; bill and legs black. Female has same tail pattern as male, but mouse-brown above, buff-brown below, with indistinct white throat crescent; however, some individuals are apparently much darker, at least in parts of the range (1 Renner, S.C. and Rappole, J.H. (2011). Description of first basic plumage of three muscicapid species found in the southeastern sub-Himalayan foothills, with notes on their taxonomy and ecology. Orn. Monogr.. 70: 142–152. Close ). Juvenile is blackish brown with buff spotting above, buff streaking below, tail pattern as female. Race montium is very slightly smaller than nominate, female with more olive-toned, less buffy-brown, breast.

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

c. 17 cm; 17·5–25·5 g. Male is almost entirely dark slaty blue, with very small white neck patch (often concealed) and somewhat bluer shoulder patch (often indistinct); basal two-thirds or so of outer tail white; iris dark brown; bill and legs slate or black. Female is dark olive-brown above including wing-coverts, becoming warmer on mantle to rump, with pale tips to uppertail-coverts; off-white lores and narrow off-white eyering; cheeks and ear-coverts with buffish feather tips, and lighter buffish brown below, with dark-streaked white throat, greyish and whitish belly; tail dark grey-brown, outer two-thirds white at base (pattern as that of male). Juvenile is blackish brown with buff spotting above, buff streaking below, tail as female.

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White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

SE Thailand and S Cambodia (Cardamom Mts and Elephant Mts).

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

Thick shady, bushy or scrubby undergrowth of dense moist broadleaf evergreen forest in lower cloud zone, often in bamboo and/or river-valley bottoms near running water. Breeds in Himalayas at 1200–2700 m, wintering from foothills to 1500 m; in Taiwan at 1000–2500 m, descending to c. 200 m in winter.

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

Inhabits dense broadleaf evergreen forest, often in areas of bamboo, at 1000–1400 m.

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

Song poorly known, seems not to differ significantly from that of M. leucura, a short thin warbling phrase of up to eight notes. Call a low “tuk”, also low whistles.

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

Presumed Apr–Jun, reportedly into Aug, in Himalayas; Apr onwards in China; as late as Sept in Myanmar; Mar–Apr in Peninsular Malaysia. Nest either domed or cup-shaped, made of grass and mud, placed in shrub close to ground or under rock ledge or fallen tree, or in hole in bank. Eggs 2–5, fairly glossy or glossless white or pale pink to pinkish brown, plain or with faint darker pinkish freckles, size 20·7–25·2 mm × 15·8–17·7 mm. No other information.

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

No published information, other than that males were in breeding condition in Mar in Cambodia. Other details thought unlikely to differ significantly from those pertaining to M. leucura.

White-tailed Robin (White-tailed)

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Locally common in India; sparsely distributed in scattered small populations in Nepal. Uncommon in Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Indochina. Status in China unclear, although it is reportedly common in parts of Yunnan. Global population size has not been quantified, but Taiwan (race montium) estimated to hold c.10,000–100,000 breeding pairs (2 Brazil, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). The species is suspected to be in decline owing to continuing habitat destruction and deterioration.

White-tailed Robin (Cambodian)

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Status poorly known, but this species is considered likely to be relatively rare overall. In Cambodia, the species occurs within Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, where it is one of the commonest members of the forest understorey within its elevational range. A formal assessment of its population level and conservation status is urgently required, and the possible existence of any major threats, such as habitat loss, needs to be determined.